


Working Holiday

by Shadow_Wolfhawk



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Grelliam Week 2017, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Nothing explicit, You've been warned, and horrible writing, contains serious amounts of fluff, contains some violence, male pronouns for grell, mild-medium adult themes, proceed at your own peril, this would probably get a PG-13 rating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 12:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13123530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Wolfhawk/pseuds/Shadow_Wolfhawk
Summary: Grelliam Week 2017 prompt: Day 1 - Grelle and William go on a reap/mission together.  (OK – technically this is a mix-and-match of some of the prompts for the week ^_^’)  It’s a week late, I know T-T   This is a self-contained, alternate universe to my “Slice of After-Life” one-shot series.





	1. Chapter 1

**_Working Holiday_ ** **(a Grelliam fic) by Shadow Wolfhawk**

**Fandom: Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji)**

**Pairing: Grelliam (Grelle Sutcliff/William T. Spears)**

 

 

 

**_Chapter 1_ **

 

The brunet adjusted his glasses with a sigh of frustration as he eyed his companion’s wardrobe choice.    “Honestly… Did you bring anything other than ladies’ clothing?”

The redhead looked at him, trying to look as cute and innocent as possible.  “Well, we are supposed to be undercover, darling ~,” he said. 

“And just _what_ do you propose our cover story should be – a man and his female companion looking to shack-up for the week?”  Honestly, what was Upper Management thinking assigning the two of them to this mission?  It was a routine collection – _one_ competent reaper could have handled it alone.  The Forensics Department was seeing to the rest.  He leaned back in his seat, crossing his right leg over his left knee and folding his arms over his chest.

Red lips pulled back to reveal a row of dangerously sharp teeth, made all the more menacing by the Cheshire grin they formed.  The younger male moved to the opposite side of the carriage to sit beside his partner.  He wove his arms around the strong, black-clad one and laid his head upon the broad shoulder.  Coyly, he walked two fingers across the sculpted chest, to toy with the black necktie.  Sighing, dreamily, he nestled down, ignoring the agitation radiating from the other.

“We can always say that we’re a newly married couple on holiday,” he suggested, trying to hide the hope he felt that his partner would go along with his little fantasy.  He knew the man well and knew that if he acted too excited about the idea, he would get a resounding ‘No!’ from him.

Instead, those cold green irises darted to the corners of their sockets to look at him from behind their stiff, rectangular frames, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine.  “Why not just say I’m your _butler_?” he grumbled.

The younger giggled at the comment, at first, before realizing what was said.  Or rather, the tone of what was said.  He looked up at the other, trying to keep his excitement in check.  “W-was that a – a yes?”

“Given your wardrobe, we don’t have many options, do we?” the man muttered.  He looked, pointedly, at the redhead.  “If we’re to carry out this ruse, we need to understand each other, first.”

 _‘There’s always a catch.’_  The younger male sighed.  “Yes, darling?”

“You need to behave yourself,” the brunet stated, flatly.  “If you are actually going to pretend to be my wife –” the redhead squealed with excitement “– then you’ll have to act accordingly.  You’ll need to curb your habit of flirting with every handsome man you come across.”

The other scoffed at the remark.  “I’m offended, William!  I do _not_ flirt with _every_ handsome man – only with those who catch my interest.  And at least half of those, I’m only joking around with.  I’m not as fickle as everyone seems to think.”  He released his hold on his partner and turned away, folding his arms over his chest, his lower lip protruding in anger.  “Contrary to popular belief – I _do_ have standards.”

“The demon?” William asked, eyebrow twitching in agitation, still not turning his head to look at the younger male.

The tension in the redhead’s brow loosened and he looked back at the brunet.  He could hear the disgust and, more importantly, the disappointment in those two words.  “I have _never_ taken Bassy seriously,” he said sincerely.  “True, he’s gorgeous – but it’s all a façade.  Just like his charm and manners.  It’s not real and I know that.  He’s playing a part, just so he can feast on some little brat’s soul.  There’s nothing there to fall for.”  He turned around and lay against William’s chest.  “He’s the exact opposite of you, my love.”

A short puff of air escaped through the brunet’s nose as he stifled a disbelieving laugh.  “You’re saying that I’m one of those who meet your standards, then, Grelle?”

A red clad arm slid up his chest to wrap tenderly around his neck.  “You _are_ my standard, darling.  No one else has ever come close to making me feel the way you do.”  There was a rare, calm sincerity in his voice that the other could not ignore.

“I apologize for offending you, Grelle,” he said, quietly after a few moments silence had passed.

“You’re forgiven, my darling.”  Looking up at the elder male, he asked, “So, am I to be Mrs. William T. Spears for a few days, then?”

William blushed, slightly and swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.  “I suppose it cannot be helped,” he agreed, sighing and adjusting his glasses as his partner turned into a squealing, wiggling mass beside him.  “Honestly…”

They sat in silence for a long while, during which time, William did not try to remove the redhead from his person, as he normally would have.  As they watched the snow-covered English countryside pass by outside the carriage window, William slowly slid his arm up around Grelle’s shoulders, keeping his eyes on the moving landscape.  He supposed he would have to get used to showing the younger male _some_ amount of affection for the next few days.  Feeling his partner’s warm arm slide around him, Grelle settled down against the brunet and began to doze off.  A short time later, the carriage came to a halt at the front door of their lodgings.  As the coachman jumped down to open the door for them, William attempted to wake the redhead sleeping against his shoulder.

“Grelle?”  He gently shook his sleeping partner, only gaining a sleepy groan in reply.  “Grelle, wake up.”

“Welcome to the Golden Lion, sir.  Best lodgings around,” the driver said, opening the door.  Seeing the man trying to wake his companion, he asked, “Everything alright, sir?”

William sighed, inwardly, before turning to the young man with a soft look.  “Everything’s fine, lad.  It seems that the journey was more tiring for my wife than expected.”  He threw in a light chuckle to sound genuine.

The coachman seemed convinced and laughed, lightly.  “Our country air does that, my lord.  If you’d like to take the lady inside, I’ll bring your bags in for you.”

“Much appreciated.”  He adjusted Grelle’s red cloak around the smaller male, gently lifting him into his arms and stepping out of the carriage.  The coachman ran ahead to open the door of the lodge for him, before returning take care of their luggage.

Stepping inside, William looked around the entry hall.  It was warmly lighted by the old, wrought iron chandeliers overhead – no doubt installed sometime in the last century – and the two stone fireplaces on either side of the room.  Soft fur and oriental rugs dotted the oak floors.  The matching wallboards were decorated for the season with wreaths and garlands of evergreen tied with red and gold ribbons.  Sprigs of holly were tastefully strewn across the mantles.  Some people were seated in the armchairs and sofas in the lounge to his left.  One elderly woman looked up and, seeing the sleeping woman in his arms, smiled at him.  He returned the gesture and gave a slight nod in greeting before moving on to the front desk.  To one side of the desk was a staircase leading to the upper floors, and beyond was a formal dining room meant for the lodge guests.  To the other side of the desk, next to what appeared to be a ballroom, was a hallway leading back into the tavern.  A young, dark haired woman spotted him and, slapping away a drunken hand reaching for her, walked up this hall to the desk, preening along the way for the handsome man standing there.

“May I help ye, m’ Lord?” she asked, sweetly.  By her accent, she from much further north than Winchester.

“My wife and I would like a room, please,” he said.  He mentally started at how easily he called Grelle Sutcliff, of all people, by that title _twice_ now. 

The girl visibly deflated at hearing the woman he was carrying was his wife and immediately became all business, her potential ticket out of there now gone.  She opened the large, leather-bound register.  “Let’s see…” she muttered, still trying to sound polite, “We should still ‘ave a room ‘r two available.  ‘Ere we go – there’s a room on th’ top floor.  It’s part of a private suite tha’s completely vacant at th’ moment.  Ye may end up sharin’ th’ common room with another guest, but at least th’ rooms ‘r on opposite sides.  Would tha’ do?”

“Is that all that’s available?” William asked.

“’Fraid so, sir,” she said, sympathetically.  “It’s th’ busy season, after all.”

“It’ll do, then.”

She took the key from its hook on the wall behind her.  Nodding towards the doorway, she asked, “Those yer bags comin’ in?”  He looked back, saw the coachman bringing in their luggage, and nodded.  “One moment.”  She turned back down the hall to the tavern.  “Oy!  Davey!  Come help bring these bags upstairs!”

“A’ight, a’ight!” came a gruff voice over the din.  A frumpy man, not much older than her, with dark, curly hair and thick side-burns came stumbling up to the desk.  He clearly had been drinking – by his reddened face it was a long habit – but he was not so sloshed that he could not function.  “Where they goin’?”

“Suite on th’ third floor,” she said.

“Got it.” 

He stumbled over to the coachman and relieved him of a few of the bags.  The hungry look he had given the sleeping redhead did not go unnoticed by William, who instinctively tightened his grip on Grelle.  The motion caused the smaller male to stir, but he only nestled closer to the warmth of William’s chest and was instantly asleep again.

“Follow me, m’ Lord,” the girl said. 

She led him upstairs to the top floor and down a long hallway to the back of the building.  She unlocked the door to the suite and allowed him to carry Grelle into the common room, which sported the same décor as the lobby.  A cozy fireplace was lighted in front of them and was flanked by large windows with a view of the frozen lake behind the lodge.  To the left of where they stood was the door to one of the two bedrooms.  The girl opened this door for him and waited for him lay his bundle gently on the queen-sized bed.  He returned to the common room as the two men brought in the baggage.

“Where would you like these, sir?” the coachman asked.

“Right where you’re standing is fine,” William said, closing the bedroom door, quietly behind him.  “I’ll take them in myself, later.”

“Right, Gov,” Davey said, plopping the bags down at his sides and holding out his hand expectantly.

The girl and the coachman instantly became uncomfortable under William’s steely gaze, but Davey was too inebriated to notice or care.  William reached into his pocket and pulled out a shilling, flipping it to the drunk, who clumsily caught it in his hands.  He gave a sick, rotted grin to the gentleman and stumbled back down the hall, no doubt to spend his earnings on another pint.

“Sorry ‘bout ‘im, sir,” the girl said.  “’E’s a nice enough fellow when ‘e’s sober, but we can’ ever seem ta keep ‘im tha’ way.”  She gave William an apologetic look.  “Unfortunately, I can’ jus’ toss ‘im out, either.  ‘E’s a rotter, but ‘e’s family.”

“Well, there’s nothing for it, then,” William shrugged.  “Do you need me to come back down and sign the register?”

“Oh, no, m’ Lord,” she said.  “You and th’ Missus can do tha’ in th’ mornin’.”  She handed him the keys to the room.  “If ye be needin’ anythin’, ye jus’ ask fer Abigail.”

“Thank you.”  He turned to the coachman, reaching into his other pocket and pulling out a guinea.  He placed it in the young man’s hand.  “And, thank you for your help, young man.  Go and warm yourself up before you head out again,” he said, slipping an extra shilling into his hand.

“Bless you, sir!  Good night to you.”  He tipped his hat and hurried off with Abigail following behind him.

William closed the door after them and turned to the baggage.  Quietly, he carried them into the bedroom. 

Grelle began to stir on the bed, shivering at a slight draft.  He sat up on hearing something shuffling around on the floor and saw William unpacking his clothes and putting them away in the dresser.  For a moment, he forgot where they were.  Suddenly remembering that he was going to play William’s wife during this mission, he grinned, giggling silently and wiggling in his glee.  William must have caught the motion in the corner of his eye, because he turned and looked at the redhead.

“Finally awake?” the brunet asked.

“A lady needs her beauty rest,” Grelle giggled, stretching a little before standing and going over to his own luggage.  Once his gowns and cloak were placed neatly in the wardrobe alongside William’s jackets – which he was relieved to see extended beyond his usual black work suits – he turned to his ‘husband’ with a smile.  He pressed himself against William’s front, not as aggressively as he normally would have, and worked absently at straightening the brunet’s jacket.  “Are you sure you’re alright with this, darling? Us pretending to be married, I mean?”

It was a sincere question, which, oddly, eased William’s mind a little more about the act.  “It’s fine.  They already believe you to be my wife, anyhow.”  His thumb and forefinger gently grasped Grelle’s chin, tilting his face up, and making the redhead look him in the eye. 

 _‘Those beautiful, cold eyes ~’_ Grelle felt his knees growing weaker by the moment.

“Behave yourself,” William continued, “and I’ll keep playing along.”

The younger male rested his hands against the other’s chest and rose up on his toes slightly to lightly touch his lips to the corner of the brunet’s mouth.  He smiled at William’s sharp intake of breath, lowering himself back to normal height and tucking his head up under the taller one’s chin.  It was bold, true, but William was not pushing him away just yet. 

“We’ll have to be convincing, after all.  Surely Mister Spears would not deny his young wife a small kiss here or there in public?  Would he?”

William swallowed, blush spreading across his cheeks once more.  What had he gotten himself into?

 

Later that evening, William and Grelle joined several other guests in the dining room for dinner.  The older male was dressed in a finely tailored black evening suit, with a rich purple waistcoat and matching silk ascot adorned with a red-jeweled tiepin, over a white silk shirt.  Grelle was seated to his left, his long red mane piled neatly atop his head, held in place by dozens of pins, the messy fringe at the front curled and swept to the side, with a few stray strands falling in lovely curls around his face and neck.  He was wearing a simple, yet elegant red gown, accentuating his figure in the most feminine way and somehow giving off the illusion of a modest, but flattering amount of cleavage.  William could not help but stare the first time Grelle had walked out in that dress.  If he had not known any better…

William shook out of his thoughts as he was addressed by the man across from him.  He was a heavy-set man, around twenty years older than William, with a thinning mess of gray hair and thick walrus moustache.  His deep, gruff voice held authority – no doubt from years in the army, the brunet wagered by the two medals hanging prominently from the left breast of the man’s dinner jacket.

“So, what’s your line of work, young man?” he asked.  “You seem to be fairly well off for your age.”

“I’m certainly not a wealthy man, sir,” William replied, politely.  “But I do make a fair living from my accounting firm in London.”

“Ah,” the man barked.  “Run the business yourself, do you?”

Not wanting to lie, but also not wanting to explain, William made a small consenting gesture, as he reached for his wine glass, saying, “I worked hard for many years to get where I am.”

The man seemed satisfied with the answer, giving a brisk nod of approval.  “Excellent!  We need more dedicated men like yourself in this country.”

William avoided answering by taking a sip of his wine and was rescued after by the elderly lady seated to the other side of Grelle.

“Not so dedicated to their work that they forget about their families at home though, Colonel.”

“Bah!”  The man took a hefty drink of his own wine.

The woman looked to Grelle.  “I certainly hope that’s not the case for you, dear.”

Grelle blushed a bit and looked at William.  “William has worked many late nights, but it’s all for us.”  He laid his hand over the brunet’s and gave him a sweet smile.  “He works very hard to give us a good life, and I’m so very proud of him.”

William saw that rare sincerity in his partner’s eyes again and instinctively gave his hand a small, gentle squeeze. 

“If I may ask, dear,” the woman said.  “How long have the two of you been married, now?”

“Oh – um… not very long actually,” Grelle confessed.  _‘About four hours, at the most.’_

“I notice that you’re not wearing a ring.”

“Well –” Grelle glanced down at his bare hand, not sure how to answer that one.

“That would be my fault, Madame,” William interjected, coolly.  “I haven’t been able to purchase one as yet, and we could not wait until I did.”

Grelle smiled and gave his hand a light squeeze.  “Surely, you could afford one,” the lady said, skeptically.

“Indeed – but it’s simply a matter of finding the _right_ one,” the brunet explained.  “I’ve yet to find a ring that would be perfectly suited to her beauty.”

The woman tittered at his charm, feeling flattered for Grelle.  She patted the redhead’s hand.  “Ring or no, you certainly picked a keeper, my dear.”  She then turned to speak with the other ladies present.

Grelle leaned closer to William.  “That was uncharacteristically romantic of you, Will,” he whispered in his ear.

William placed his own lips close to the redhead’s ear in turn.  “You did say we needed to be convincing,” he said, quietly, brushing the tip of his nose against Grelle’s neck for emphasis.

The younger male giggled at the motion and lightly smacked his wrist.  “I’m not sure if I should kiss you or slap you for teasing a lady like that.”  The elder chuckled and straightened up.

After coffee and desert had been brought out and many of the guests continued to linger and chatter, the two excused themselves and returned to their room.  William collapsed on the sofa in the common room in front of the fireplace, undoing his ascot and the button of his shirt collar.  Keeping up his role of the ever-dutiful wife, Grelle brought him a glass of brandy from the decanter on the sideboard before sitting down beside him.  Pulling his feet up onto the cushions beneath him, he draped his arm along the back of the sofa, fingers toying with the soft brown locks at the back of the other’s neck.

“Thank you, Grelle.”  William sipped slowly at the brandy as he gazed absently at the flames dancing inside the hearth.

“Well, we made it through one dinner, at least,” Grelle said, breaking the silence.  The brunet hummed in agreement.  “Looks like they believe us.” 

“Mm-hmm.”

Grelle’s eyes darted towards the bedroom.  He noticed William’s eyes move towards the room as well, his finger tapping the side of his glass.  They had avoided the topic since he had woken up from his nap.

“Umm…”

William downed the rest of his brandy in one gulp, set the glass down on the coffee table and stood.  He walked to the bedroom, quickly changed and reemerged dressed in his usual black suit, with the large black ledger in hand.  From thin air, the long pruning pole appeared in his right hand and he went towards the window.  He turned to Grelle once the window was opened and adjusted his glasses.

“We have work to do.”  With one smooth, cat-like movement, he leapt through the window and up onto the roof.

Grelle sighed, heavily, resting his chin on his hands.  “Yes, darling…”

 

The redhead shivered as he stood beside William, who was intently reading through the ledger in his hand.  Even after having changed into his usual suit, the only outfit consisting of slacks that he brought with him, and pulling his beloved red coat up around his shoulders, Grelle was still cold.  He looked over at his partner.  A gust of cold wind blew over them, but William did not so much as flinch.  He was such a cold man already, the redhead doubted that winter weather even affected him.

He giggled at the thought.

William’s cold, emerald gaze snapped over to him, startling the younger male, who then began poking the tips of his index fingers together as he pouted, innocently.

“How many days before the collection?” he asked.

“Less than three days.”  He pushed his glasses up with the tip of the pruning pole.  “Provided nothing goes wrong, that is.”

“Do you suppose it’s a demon?”

“That’s for Forensics to figure out.  I haven’t sensed one, yet, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not out hunting right now.  We should scout the immediate area as a precaution.”

“Well ~ Shall we go for an after-dinner stroll, then, my love?” Grelle giggled, that infernal machine of his roaring to life in his hands.

William sighed as he glared at the lethal instrument.  “How you _ever_ got approval for that confounded thing…” he grumbled, but was cut off by the buzzing of the blade.  “Remember what I said about behaving yourself, Sutcliff – it applies to that thing, as well.”

The redhead spun over to him, pressing back against the taller male and wiggling his hips, chortling viciously as he kept the blade pointed safely away from his partner.  “Don’t worry, darling – no more paperwork than necessary on this job.”  He lifted a black-gloved hand to stroke the sharp jaw above him.  “I promise.”

The brunet rolled his eyes and shrugged the other off of him.  “Then let’s go.  We’ll scout the perimeter for three miles out.”  He snapped the book shut and it vanished from his hand.  “And let’s be quick about it – some of us didn’t get to take a nap today.”

The two leapt from the rooftop and disappeared into the trees, the redhead’s manic cackling drifting on the evening air.

 

“Well, we can’t avoid it, now.”  The two stared at the single bed in their room, silently debating what should be done.  Grelle glanced at William and saw his brow twitch, the telltale sign of his frustration.  “One of us could take the couch out in the common room… although that could be rather difficult to explain should someone come in.  And I’m sure neither of fancies the idea of sleeping upright in an armchair all night.”

William pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes screwing shut as he let out a heavy sigh.  “I suppose we’ll have to –” He groaned at the thought, “- we’ll have to share it.”

The redhead looked at him.  “Well… if you’re alright with that, Will?”

“Just keep your hands to yourself.”  William went to the wardrobe and began to hang up his suit.

Grelle fought to contain his excitement.  He was going to share a bed with William!  True, there would not be any cuddling or funny business – but at least it was a start.  He fetched his nightclothes from the dresser and went into the private bathroom to change.  When he came back out wearing a red flannel nightgown, the brunet was dressed in a set of blue and white striped flannel pajamas and was lying in bed, leafing through his ledger once more by the light of the oil lamp on the bedside table.  The redhead padded over to the bed, laying his red silk robe over the footboard and climbed under the blankets beside his partner. 

As he braided his long mane, he looked over William’s shoulder to read the pages of the ledger.  The redhead’s brow furrowed in confusion – those were not the collection files.  The pages were aged and filled with fine script.  They appeared to be sporting some old water damage and – was that dried blood?  As he studied the script a little closer, he realized that he knew that handwriting…

“Will,” he asked, his voice quivering slightly with the realization, “is – is that -?”

William snapped the book shut and adjusted his glasses in agitation.  “Yes.”  He saw no point in denying it.

“You’ve had it all this time?”

The brunet nodded, his fingers carefully tracing the cover of the book.  “I collected the pages before we returned to headquarters that day.  I’ve been working on restoring the original manuscript of-and-on for the past seventy years.”

“The original?” Grelle asked.  “Are you saying there’s a copy floating around somewhere?”

“Only the one I’ve been writing up.  Some of the pages are too badly damaged from the snow or caked with blood to be able to read the passages in full.  I’ve been copying down what’s still legible and filling in the rest by reviewing the author’s record.”  He glanced over at his partner.  “It’s been a lengthy process, as I can’t always get to the Library, but soon I hope to have a completed copy.”

Grelle reached over to run his manicured fingers over the book.  “Why didn’t you tell me that you kept it?”

William merely shrugged.  “I don’t know,” he confessed.  “I suppose because it just never came up in conversation.”  He looked at Grelle.  “I didn’t know you were so sentimental over it.”

“Me?!” the redhead said.  “You’re the one who kept the book – and _you_ were the one who decided that his life didn’t matter.”

“I never said his life did not matter, Grelle,” the older reaper corrected.  “I determined that he would make no significant difference in the world if he were to live.  So, we collected his soul as we were instructed.  And it turned out to be the right decision, did it not?”

“Still…” Grelle mumbled.  “You could have told me that you kept his book.”

“Well, now you know.”  William set the ledger on the nightstand and turned down the lamp, settling down under the blankets.  “We should get some sleep, now.  We have more work to do tomorrow.”  He removed his glasses and placed them on top of the book, turning onto his side so he faced away from the younger male and pulled the blankets up over his shoulder.  “Good night, Sutcliff.”

The redhead pouted a bit, but removed his glasses and settled down for the night as well.  “Good night, my darling.”

“I’m _not_ your darling.”

 

 

_**How we doing so far?  You still with me?  Sweet!  On to the next chapter! ^_^** _


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_ **

 

The next morning, Grelle woke to an empty bed.  He rolled over and saw that his partner’s side was made and his pajamas were folded and sitting at the foot of the bed.  With a sigh, he looked at the empty space as he recalled his lovely dream.  He could still feel William’s strong, warm arms around him, those nimble fingers playing with his hair, his heart beating softly in that solid chest.  Reaching out, his manicured fingers traced over the brunet’s side of the bed.  It was still somewhat warm, indicating that William had not gotten up too terribly long before.  Grelle sat up, stretching with a huge yawn.  He looked around for a sign of the brunet, but did not see him.  There was a knock on the door before it opened and the man in question walked in.

“Breakfast is ready,” he said.  “Best get yourself dressed before it gets cold.”

“Alright, dear,” the younger one said through another yawn.

Once the door was closed again, he threw back the covers, only to shiver at the sudden chill.  He stood and quickly dressed in one of his red, long-sleeved gowns.  After combing-out his hair, he went out into the common room, wrapping a shawl around his shoulders.  William was seated at the small dining table, sipping at a cup of coffee.  Grelle could smell the ham and eggs in the covered serving platters and sat down in the chair next to William’s.  Once he had done so, William removed the covers from the food and began serving their breakfast.  As his plate was filled, Grelle took a piece of toast from the rack and spread it with the jam provided.  His partner then served himself and refilled his coffee.  They ate in silence for the most part, which was starting to drive Grelle crazy.

“Did you sleep well, Will?” he asked.

“I suppose so,” William replied.  He was not really one for small talk, but indulged the redhead anyway.  “You seem as though you did.”

“I did.  It wasn’t quite as comfortable as my own bed, but it wasn’t too terrible.”  He poured some coffee for himself and took a sip, grimacing at how strong it was.  “So, what shall we do today?”

William gave him a sour glance, taking another bite of eggs.  “We’ll scout in and around the town two miles north of here.  The concentration of unusual soul activity appears to be nearby.”

Grelle twirled his spoon about in his coffee cup, mixing in the milk and sugar he’d added to help with the taste.  He lay his cheek in his palm and gazed, admiringly at his partner.  “Perhaps we could do a little shopping in town, while we’re there.  What do you think, darling?”

The brunet growled and set down his coffee cup with a little more force than necessary.  “Sutcliff – despite the charade you and I are putting on, do remember that we are _not_ on holiday.  We have a job to do.”

“Oh, I know, Will,” the redhead grinned, waving his hand dismissively.  “But we do need to keep up appearances, don’t we?”  He gave an innocent little pout and leaned over to lay his head on William’s shoulder and looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes.  “Just a _little_ shopping trip, Will?”

The brunet closed his eyes and took a deep breath, reigning in his frustrations.  “Fine.  Just don’t get carried away.”

 

“I said not to get carried away, Grelle.”  The elder reaper walked just behind the redhead with two bags hanging off of each arm and three parcels stacked in his hands.

“Oh, this is _nothing_ , darling,” the younger male smiled over his shoulder.  “You should see me when we get our yearly bonus – _that_ is getting carried away.”

“ _Sutcliff…_ ”  The brunet was getting highly agitated, now, his brow twitching nearly uncontrollably.

The red-clad reaper fell back into step alongside his partner.  His hands snaked out of his velvet cloak and wrapped around William’s arm.  “Lighten-up a little, Will.  We’ve been walking around town all morning and there’s nothing of otherworldly activity to be seen.  Why don’t we stop at that little café we saw Earlier and get you some lunch?  Maybe you’ll be less grumpy after you’ve eaten.”

“I’ll be less grumpy once you take all of these things off of my hands.”

“Come now, darling,” Grelle teased.  “A big, strong reaper like you weighed down by a few little bags and boxes?”  He ignored the older man’s snarl and continued.  “I’ve always thought you were a gentleman and a gentleman is supposed carry his lady’s things for her, is he not?”

“You ignore the little fact that _you_ are _not my lady_.”

Grelle tried not to show how much his words stung him.  “No need to be cruel, William.  I’m only having fun.”  He reached up to gently push the other’s glasses back up the bridge of his nose.  “Let’s go find something to eat.”

William allowed the redhead to lead him to the small restaurant near the town square.  Once there, the brunet was relieved of his load by an attendant who also took his coat and Grelle’s cloak to hang up in the back room.  They were seated at a quiet table near the fireplace and took a few moments to look over the menu.  Once the server brought them a bottle of wine, from which they both sampled, the two placed their order and were left to sit in silence.  William took a sip of his wine and looked over at his partner, who was clearly still upset.  Realizing that he had been unjustly harsh with the younger since that morning, he sat up and reached across the table to lay his hand over the other’s.  Grelle looked up at him, eyes shimmering with hurt.

“I apologize for my attitude, Earlier, Grelle,” he said, softly.  “I can see that I’ve hurt you and that was not my intent.”

Grelle gave a quick, faint smile and sniffed quietly, turning his hand over in William’s to wrap his fingers around it.  He said nothing at first and for a moment, William was not sure that he would be forgiven this time.  “Why are you being such a grouch today, Will?” he finally asked, keeping his voice low.  “Yesterday you seemed – I don’t know, but today you’re being the exact opposite.  Have I done something to upset you?”

William began to say something, but sighed in defeat.  “No, Grelle – you’ve not done anything wrong.  It’s just this assignment.  You know how I hate being sent out into the field and I suppose that this mission is just irritating me.  I have no right to take that out on you and I’m sorry.”

The redhead smiled at his sincerity, but still felt as though he were holding something back.  “Will – if you’re uncomfortable with all of this – pretending to husband and wife, I mean – I wish you would tell me.”

“Well, of course I’m uncomfortable with it,” he said, bluntly.  “It was a foolish idea from the start, but we agreed that we did not have much choice.  However – we’re too far in to turn back now.”

“Are you so uncomfortable with it, that it’s upsetting you like this?” Grelle asked, carefully, almost inaudibly.

William was unsure of how to respond to that.  Once their food was brought out, the two silently agreed to let the matter drop for the time being and made casual conversation over their meal.  After a relatively pleasant lunch, William paid the bill and the two went to retrieve the belongings.  Once he shrugged into his coat, the elder reaper wrapped Grelle’s cloak around the redhead’s shoulders, giving him a small hug in the process.  The younger male looked at him with mild surprise, unsure of whether it was genuine affection he was just given or if it was part of the ruse.  He saw the corner of the other’s mouth twitch into a small, quick smile before the brunet turned to pick up the bags and packages.

“After you, my lady,” he said, nodding towards the door.

Grelle felt his heart beat a little faster and smiled at his partner.  The two strolled down the street, the redhead’s arms wrapped around William’s, and they chatted pleasantly as they browsed more of the shops.  A few small items caught the older reaper’s eye and he decided to make some purchases himself.  As they left an antique shop, the brunet looked over at his companion and followed his gaze to a young couple coming down the street.  He saw the sadness return to those emerald eyes as they watched the two stroll past, laughing and kissing, putting their love on display for the world to see.  Grelle pulled his cloak tighter around himself as he felt a sudden chill and turned away.

William leaned over and gently nudged his forehead against the side of his partner’s, gaining his attention.  “Don’t look so glum, Grelle – people will think I’m a lousy husband.”  _‘What the hell are you doing, Spears?  You’ll only make this worse.’_

Grelle smiled, however – knowing that his companion was trying to cheer him up – and nuzzled into his shoulder.  “I can’t imagine anyone would call you that, Will,” he purred.

“I’m pretty sure that at least half of the Dispatch would,” William replied.

“Clearly you haven’t seen all of the women swooning over you,” Grelle chuckled, though there was a tinge of jealousy in his voice.

“Only the ones who aren’t so subtle about it.”

“Yes, I’ve seen some of them and how they throw themselves at you,” the redhead grumbled.  “Humph!  Some women just have no dignity.”

“That’s a bit hypocritical coming from you, wouldn’t you say, Grelle?”

“Perhaps.”  He reached up to toy with William’s hair as they walked.  “Except I’ve been rather possessive of you for a longer time than they.”

“You don’t say…” the brunet muttered.

Either the other did not hear him, or chose to ignore it as he continued.  “Ever since that wonderful day~” He trailed off into a warm giggle, wriggling a little as he tightened his hold on his partner’s arm.  His chuckling faded as a thought came to mind.  “Oh!  Why – that will be exactly ninety years, this month.”

The thought made William halt in his tracks.  “I’ve been putting-up with you for _that_ long?”

The two looked at each other and the redhead began to chuckle again.  The older man could not help but smile a bit as well.  “Perhaps it’s time we settled-down, eh, Will darling?”

“Hmph!” the other laughed, lightly.  “Get back to me on that when we get to _one hundred_ years…”

“Now, now – no teasing, Will ~” Grelle smiled.

 

The reapers, exhausted from their day out, returned to the lodge.  On the way in, William caught sight of Davey chopping wood.  He looked up as they walked by, his drunken eyes following Grelle.  The elder reaper saw those eyes fill with that same hunger he had seen the night before and stopped briefly to glare at the man.  The redhead looked back at him.

“Will?” he called.  “Something the matter, darling?”

Davey’s eyes shifted to the brunet and caught sight of his glare.  Far from being intimidated, he smiled that drunken, sick smile and tipped his hat, mockingly at the reaper.  William felt the urge to go over and beat that smug look off of his face.  When Grelle called to him again, he resumed his pace behind him, nudging his partner forward into the safety of the lodge.  Once inside, the warmth of the lobby melted away his agitation.

“Is everything alright, dear?” the redhead asked, again.

William gave him a soft look.  “Everything’s fine.  I don’t trust that Davey character.  The way he’s been looking at you since we arrived – Stay away from him.”

“Aww… Are you being protective of me, Will darling?” Grelle cooed.  He wrapped his arms around William’s waist and touched his lips to his ear.  “I’m a big girl, Willy.  I can take care of myself.”  He kissed his partner’s cheek.  “You’re sweet to worry, though, my love.”

The brunet brushed his nose against Grelle’s, playing the affectionate husband for those nearby watching them.  “It’s not you I’m worried about.  I’m more worried about the consequences if he turns up dead ahead of schedule.”

Grelle laughed and wacked his arm.  “I would never do that to you, darling…  Not again, anyway.”

“No, but I might be the one who ends up in trouble if I catch him anywhere near you.”

The two walked up to their room, where William was finally able to able to set down his load, which had grown by at least five more bags and parcels.  He stacked them in the bedroom and went back out into the common room to collapse on the sofa.

“Remind me to never go shopping for the holiday with you,” he told Grelle as the younger male handed him a brandy. 

The crimson reaper stood behind his partner and began to massage the man’s shoulders, for which he received a gratified moan.  “I guess Ronald is going to have to be my caddy again this year.”

“Don’t you think you’ve prolonged his hazing period long enough?” William chuckled.

Grelle leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his partner and resting his cheek against Will’s.  He sighed, pleasantly, and toyed with his supervisor’s tie, loosening the knot a little.  “Hmm… I’ll tell you what – I’ll stop tormenting poor Ronnie when you confess that you’re really in love with me.”

“I hope that boy has a thick skin,” the brunet said, sipping his drink.

Grelle slapped the man’s chest, playfully.  “I’ll be sure to tell him that you have no desire to save him.”

They’re chuckling was interrupted by a knock.  Grelle stood up straight and turned towards the door as it opened.  The young woman from the front desk stepped in.  “Beggin’ yer pardon, M’ Lord ‘n Lady – just wanted t’ inform ya tha’ a guest’ll be takin’ tha’ room across from yers.”

“Very well,” William said, turning in his seat to look at her.  “Thank you, Abigail.”

Grelle felt a rush of jealous rage as the woman blushed at William’s acknowledgement of her.  “’E’ll be up shortly,” Abigail said, bowing slightly and leaving them be, door closing behind her.

“It’s a good thing that you weren’t awake when we arrived last evening, if that little blush made you so jealous, Grelle,” the brunet said.

“Why?  What did she do?” 

William could not help but laugh as his partner’s envy seeped into his voice.  “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me!”

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Grelle?” the older reaper asked, cheek resting against his fist as he leaned against the back of the sofa.

The redhead’s anger deflated, but his lips still puckered in frustration.  “Cruel man…”  He instantly melted into a puddle, though, when his love’s hand slipped around his.

“Relax.”  William tapped the tip of Grelle’s nose with his finger.  “Remember what I said about behaving –” He suddenly stopped and stood up, his expression becoming serious once again.

Grelle could sense the man’s muscles flexing and could see his jaw tightening – something was terribly wrong.  William was more attuned to sensing danger than he.  He walked around to stand in front of him, placing his hands on the other’s chest.  Looking up at him with concern, he asked, “What is it, Will?”

“A demon.”  His voice was calm and quiet, masking the rage Grelle could feel radiating off of him.

“You’re certain?”

“Yes.”  The redhead looked about, trying to locate the source of the disturbance.  ‘Ah, yes – right there.’  Grelle’s eyebrows shot up.  ‘Wait a moment…’  “God, damn it…”

“He already has, darling,” the smaller male chuckled.  “Well, this mission just got more interesting ~”

The two reapers looked towards the door as it opened again and a tall, handsome figure with pale skin and dressed entirely in black entered the room.  His eyes flashed red, briefly on seeing them, before returning to a calm, burnt sienna.

“Well, this is a surprise,” he said, with a smooth voice and an obviously false smile.

“Not _you_ again,” added the well-dressed boy who walked in behind him.  The youngster’s uncovered blue eye radiated annoyance, emphasized by the brass tip of his black walking stick slamming against floor.

“Good to see you again, too, _brat_.”  Grelle’s cheerful voice faltered for a moment as he growled his favorite title for the boy, his smile just as false as the butler’s.  “Still following him around, Bassy dear?”

“Hello, Grelle…” the butler sighed, feeling a headache coming on.  He looked at the other reaper.  “And Mister Spears – what a pleasure.”

“Spare me the pleasantries, _demon_.”  Only William could snarl so angrily, but still sound so calm.  Grelle felt his knees going weak.

Ciel smirked at them, arrogantly.  “So – _you’re_ the married couple in the room across from me, eh?” he chuckled, mockingly.

William stepped away from Grelle and the redhead clenched his fists, struggling to keep from summoning his death scythe.  “We happen to be undercover,” William stated flatly, adjusting his glasses.  “Is that a problem?”

“There’s always a problem whenever you lot show up,” Ciel grumbled.

“Now, now, young master,” the demon said, coolly.  He then turned to address the others as well.  “Before any blood is shed this time around, I suggest that we invoke the same agreement we made at the circus.”

William’s eyes flashed behind his spectacles.  “Very well – but that means the _entire_ agreement, demon.”

Sebastian sighed.  “I must follow my master’s orders, reaper.  If he orders me somewhere without him, I must obey.”

William’s death scythe was in his hand, instantly and just as quickly, Grelle grabbed his wrist. 

“Will, don’t.”  The other reaper glared at him from the corner of his eye and Grelle could have sworn that there was a hint of disappointment in those eyes.  “If he must leave the brat’s side, then one of _us_ can accompany him.  They’re likely here for the reason we are.”  He turned to frown at Ciel.  “The _mutt_ doesn’t take pleasure trips, after all.”  The child’s glare was a little more intimidating from behind that eyepatch, but it did not bother Grelle in the least.

The brunet reaper sighed, but nodded in agreement.  “Fine.”  He dismissed the scythe and removed his hand from Grelle’s grip.  Looking back to the butler, he growled, “Just keep out of our way.”

“Of course,” the demon smiled as the reaper disappeared into his room.  He looked over at the younger reaper, who was watching William’s retreating form, sadly.  “So – how did you convince _that one_ to, uh – ‘ _marry’_ you, Mister Sutcliff?”

Grelle’s face turned his favorite color and he hurried after William, closing the door behind them.  He found his partner staring angrily at the flames dancing in the hearth and hesitated to move forward.  He felt tears welling up in his own eyes.  Everything had been going so well.  They had had such a wonderful afternoon together and he had gotten to see a more playful side to the other reaper than he had ever seen in the decades that he had known him.  He had even been able to shower William with affection without being smacked for it.  Now the other reaper was angry again and with Sebastian being here, he was sure that the man would stay that way.

His hands came up to cradle his mouth, silencing his sobs and he moved over to the bed, laying down to bury his face in the pillows.  _‘Why did they have to show up?’_

An unusual sound broke through William’s thoughts and he dragged his gaze away from the fireplace to look about.  His bespectacled eyes finally fell on the bed, where the red-clad figure of his partner lay.  The reaper’s thin, porcelain shoulders were shaking and the odd, muffled noise seemed to be in time with the movement.  He walked over to the bed and sat down beside the other reaper.

Grelle felt the slight shift in the mattress, followed by a soft touch between his shoulders.  He looked up, his vision blurred from a combination of tears and his glasses having fallen off.  The form seated beside him appeared to be his fellow reaper, but he felt no anger in his touch.

“Grelle?”  William’s voice was soft and concerned and it made the redhead’s heart leap.  The man’s other hand came up to cradle the younger one’s cheek, brushing the streaks of mascara away.  “Grelle, whatever is the matter?”  The red reaper opened his mouth to reply, but all that came out was another sob and he looked away, burying his face in the pillow again.  “Grelle…”

Had that accursed demon done something to him?  He would tear the beast apart with his bare hands.  Grelle did not appear to be injured, so why was he so upset?  He remembered how unhappy Grelle had been Earlier and it had been because of him.  Had he done something again to make the other cry?  What had he done?  William felt a strange sensation stirring in his chest.  He could not explain it, but seeing Grelle in this state made him… sad?  Angry?  Hurt?  Did this feeling even have a name?  Why was he suddenly so desperate to dry those tears and see that sharp-toothed smile again?  He wanted to take the red reaper into his arms and hold him until his sobs had ceased.  Why did he want to stop his pain?  Confused and acting on instinct, he reached down again and pulled the redhead into his arms, rubbing soothing circles on his back and hushing softly in his ear.

“Grelle, please tell me what’s wrong?” he said, bringing a hand up to run through the crimson locks.

The red reaper’s sobs had quieted and he struggled to take deep, calming breaths around the ones that lingered.  His arms came up around his partner’s waist and hugged, tightly.  He sniffled against the brunet’s warm neck and wiped his cheek against the strong shoulder.

“It’s nothing, Will,” he choked out.  “I’m alright now.”

“Why are you crying, Grelle?” William asked.

“Nothing.”  The smaller male scoffed at himself.  “It’s nothing.  Just fooling myself again, I suppose…”

William sat the other reaper up straight so he could look him in the eye.  _Have those eyes always held so much pain?_   “What do you mean?” he asked, gently.

“Oh, Will… you know how I feel about you.  For a few wonderful moments today – I don’t know…”

“What?”

“I guess… I guess I fell for our own lie.”  Grelle wiped at some more tears.  “It seemed like you really were happy to be with me.  Like you actually…  and now that damn demon is here and he’s ruined everything!”  He collapsed into William’s arms, his tears beginning anew.

William was at a loss.  “Shhh...  Grelle.  I – I don’t understand.  Please, calm down and tell me what’s wrong.”

The redhead slid his hands up to clutch William’s shoulders, resting his forehead in the crook of his neck.  “I’m sorry…  I’m sorry I made you angry, Will.”

“Grelle, you haven’t made me angry,” said the brunet.  “I was angry because of that damned demon, not you.”

Grelle finally met his eyes and seemed – surprised?  Relieved?  “I – I thought that… When I stopped you from attacking him, you looked at me like you were furious with _me_.”

“I did?  Grelle, I’m sorry.”  William’s hands slid up Grelle’s sides, arms and neck, stopping at his jaw, cradling his face gently.  His thumbs stroked over his cheeks, brushing away his tears.  “I’m not angry at _you_ , I promise.”  The younger male’s eyes reflected his relief.  “It’s alright.”  The elder leaned forward, resting their foreheads together as their eyes closed. 

The two remained so for an unknown amount of time, calming their racing minds and relaxing their tense bodies.  William gently nudged forward, the tip of his nose brushing against Grelle’s.  The motion tickled a bit, causing the smaller one to smile.  He sniffed and opened his eyes to gaze at his love.  The brunet’s eyes opened, slightly and looked into Grelle’s.  Time seemed to stop around them and the crimson reaper leaned in, touching his lips gently to the pair across from him.  A tiny gasp escaped William, but he did not pull away.  Instead, he softly increased the pressure, pulling Grelle closer. 

A soft moan from one of them, made Grelle gasp and pull away, his expression mortified.  His hands flew to his mouth.  “I’m sorry, Will!  I – I’m so sorry…” 

The sudden apology from the frightened voice shook William out of his trance.  He straightened, the realization of what he had just done sinking in.  His eyes darted about, his brain trying to find a logical reason for what had just happened.

“It… It’s not your fault, Grelle.” 

He released the red reaper and slid off of the bed, standing and walking back to the fireplace.  He placed his hands against the mantle, leaning his weight on them as he stared into the flames.  _‘What the hell have you done, Spears?  What are you thinking?’_   He turned to look over his shoulder at Grelle.  His redheaded partner was still seated on the bed, clearly shaken as well.  For a moment, anger welled in his chest.  _‘He_ wanted _to do that.  He’s wanted to for years, he’s made no secret of that.  Did he set me up?  Did he just pretend to be…?’_   He watched Grelle rub at his wrists, his eyes staring blankly at the floor.  William’s anger instantly left him, realizing the purpose of that motion as he looked at the old scars, still prominent against that porcelain skin.  _‘He was the one that pulled away, first._ You _leaned into the kiss._ You _wanted it.’_   He looked back at the flames, trying to take these thoughts from his head.  _‘Don’t… don’t be stupid.  You didn’t…’_   He closed his eyes, tightly and breathed deeply.

The brunet reaper turned around and looked at his partner.  His eyes softened and he swallowed.  _‘Why_ now _?  After all these years?’_

William walked back over to the bed and sat back down beside Grelle.  He cupped the younger male’s chin in his hand and gently turned his head to face him.  “Grelle – what just happened…  I, um – I think we should forget it for the time being.  We need to focus on this case…  We can’t afford distractions.”

Grelle nodded, quietly, not trusting himself to talk at the moment.  As William moved to stand up, the redhead grabbed his arm.  The other looked back at him with soft eyes.

“Will… just – just answer one question for me?”

“What is it?”

Grelle’s eyes shimmered as he looked up at his partner.  “Do… do you hate me?”

William’s shock was evident and he immediately pulled Grelle into his arms.  “No,” he stated, firmly.  “I don’t hate you, Grelle.”  He rubbed the other’s back before pulling away again.  “It’s alright, Grelle.  We will talk about this later.  Agreed?”  The redhead nodded.  William stood and helped his partner to his feet.  “Go in and clean yourself up.  They should be serving dinner shortly and we need to resume our review of the guests on the List.”

“Of course, darling.”  Grelle gently touched his fellow reaper’s cheek before walking into the bathroom to freshen up. 

While Grelle cleaned up, William changed for dinner and was combing his hair when the crimson reaper came out to fetch one of his gowns.  The brunet watched him in the mirror as the younger went through the wardrobe for an appropriate evening gown.  He saw Grelle’s head turn slightly, as though trying to sneak a look at him over his shoulder.  William set his comb down and proceeded to tie his ascot as Grelle went back to the bathroom to change.  After putting on his waistcoat, he sat down in one of the armchairs in front of the fire to wait.  He was leafing through the ledger as Grelle came out, elegantly dressed as he had been the night before and went over to the vanity to apply his makeup and fix his hair for the evening.  He caught the redhead looking at him a few times in the mirror and stood, walking over to him as he put on the new jewelry he had purchased in town that afternoon.  The earrings were teardrop-shaped red gems outlined by tiny diamonds and a pearl and ruby bracelet went onto his left wrist.  The necklace that was paired with the latter had a rather difficult clasp and it was this that William helped him with.  Once it was secured, William’s hands lingered on the redhead’s shoulders for a moment before he went to retrieve his dinner jacket.  Once he pulled it on, Grelle was beside him.  The smaller male turned the elder towards him and looked him over, smoothing his lapels and adjusting his ascot.

“There,” he said, softly, looking up into his love’s eyes.  “Perfect.”

William felt his throat tightening as he managed to murmur a “thank you”, before pulling on his white dinner gloves.  “Shall we head downstairs, then?”

His partner nodded and the two went out into the common room, where they found the demon brushing off his leash-holder’s coat.  The four said nothing to each other as William and Grelle left the room and went downstairs to the lounge.  The redhead mingled with the other guests as the brunet stayed off to the side, not much for socializing, and observed them.  The boy and his butler entered the room not long after.  The young Earl sat down in a chair near one of the fireplaces as the demon stood close by, exchanging glares with the older reaper from across the room.  William continued to watch the foul beast, even when Grelle walked up to him.  The redhead wrapped an arm around his waist, sliding his other hand up and down William’s arm, soothingly.

“Don’t pay him any mind, darling,” he murmured in the brunet’s ear.  “Loathsome thing he may be, but he won’t make a move unless the brat tells him to.  He’s a very obedient dog.”

“He only pretends to be,” William stated. 

“Even so,” Grelle said, nuzzling his partner while leering at the butler and his young master, “I doubt he’ll make a move right now.  Relax.  We are supposed to look like we’re enjoying ourselves, after all.”

William finally turned to look at his partner and his expression changed to one befitting a man looking at his wife.  “I thought we had been enjoying ourselves,” he said with a light smile.  He tilted his head and brushed his nose against the redhead’s cheek and neck, making the smaller male giggle.

“Don’t look now, my love, but I think we’re upsetting the brat,” the redhead said.  Watching from the corner of his eye, he smiled at the scandalized expression on the Earl’s face as he watched them.  “Think we should have a little fun at his expense?”

“Don’t get carried away, Grelle,” the other smiled, moving his face closer to ghost his lips over his partner’s neck. 

“That’s the second time you’ve said that to me today.”  The crimson reaper sighed, pulling back with a teasing smile and tapped the end of his love’s nose. 

“Probably because I’ve known you long enough to know that you can go little too far sometimes,” William replied, pulling back to look at him.  He kissed the tip of the manicured finger in front of him.

Grelle trailed that finger across William’s lips, down his chin and neck, tracing around the pin on his ascot.  “You just tell me when you think I’m going too far…” he whispered.

What may have been the second kiss between the two of them that day was interrupted by the chiming of the dinner bell.  The two looked at each other for a moment before following the other guests into the dining room.  Reaching their places at the table, William pulled out Grelle’s chair and pushed it in for him as he sat down before taking his own seat to his right.  Dinner passed much as it did the night before – the guests gossiping with each other, the discussion of politics and business proposals, and each person who was interested was trying to learn about the new guest.  Needless to say, most were amazed that a fourteen-year-old boy held the title of ‘Earl’ and was the head of his household.  Young Phantomhive, however, took it all in stride answering their questions with the practiced politeness befitting his station.  Grelle and William were the only two not interested in making conversation that evening, both too centered on their own thoughts of what was happening between them.  William’s eyes occasionally wandered over the corner near the doorway, making sure the demon stayed within sight.  He stood straight with his arms linked behind his back, eyes gently closed as though as though not to meet those of his betters.  The reaper knew, though, that beast was merely bored and his senses were casting about for any sign of danger that would affect his master.

He felt Grelle’s hand over top his and he looked at the redhead. 

“Is everything alright, Will?”

William smiled a little and gave his partner’s hand a gentle squeeze.  “Everything’s fine, Grelle.”

When dinner ended, the two reapers went back to the lounge with the other guests.  While Grelle gossiped with the women, William observed a game of darts between the Earl and Colonel Mason.  The two were evenly matched, but William could see that the boy was holding back.  Seeing the reaper watching, Ciel smirked.

“Care to joins us, Mister Spears?” he said.

William raised an eyebrow at the boy, deciding whether he should accept the obvious challenge.  It would be too easy for him, after all.  His eyes darted to Grelle, who was watching to see if he would do so.  He took a sip of the brandy in his hand and stepped up to take the set of darts from the colonel. 

“Your shot, My Lord,” the reaper said.

Ciel’s darts landed squarely on the board, one hitting the bull’s-eye, the other two just outside it.  William took another sip of brandy as the boy’s darts were removed and then, holding all three darts in one hand, threw them one-at-a-time in quick succession.  All three grouped neatly in the bull’s-eye.  As the colonel stepped closer to the board to get better look, along with several other guests, William took another sip and cast a sideways glance at the Earl.

“You should know better by now…”  The boy merely scowled at him.  “Care to continue?” he asked.

The colonel came back to them, darts in hand and gave them back to William.  “I’ll give you five Sovereigns if you can do that again, Spears!”

The brunet chuckled.  “Well, I don’t make a habit of gambling, Colonel, but if you insist.”  He threw the darts again and, again, hit the center of the target all three times.  William accepted his winnings from the old soldier amidst the applause from the onlookers.

Grelle stood and went over to his partner, sliding his arms up around his neck and kissing his cheek, beaming as a proud wife would.  “Bravo, my love.”

“Thank you, my dear.”  Grelle’s heart sped up at hearing the endearment leave the brunet’s lips.

“Perhaps we should retire before you put these fine gentlemen in the poor house,” he laughed.

“I believe your right.”  William turned to the others.  “If you’ll excuse us?  Good night, all.”

The two reapers left the gathering and went back upstairs to their room.  Grelle chuckled at his love.

“Since when do you gamble?”

“Well, the boy started it.  But to answer your question, a few of the other managers and I have standing biweekly card game.”

“After hours, I hope,” the redhead laughed.

“Of course.”

As they changed their clothes, there was a soft thumping on the window.  Looking over, they saw a pigeon sitting on the sill, tapping its beak against the glass.  Recognizing it as one of the Dispatch’s couriers, William opened the window, allowing the feathered messenger to hop inside and onto the back of his hand.  It cooed, softly as the reaper removed the message from the holster on its leg and then fluttered up to perch on his shoulder. 

“What is it, Will?” the redhead asked as William unrolled the note and read it over.

“Nothing,” the other said.  “Just a request from my superiors for a progress report.”

Grelle sighed.  “They act as though they don’t trust us…”

William gave the redhead a pointed look.  “Actually, it’s _you_ they don’t trust, Sutcliff.  And I can’t say that I blame them.”

“I’ve been very well behaved since my suspension was lifted,” Grelle retorted.

“I’m aware of that.  I’ve been very impressed with your progress since your return.  You’ve been an exemplary reaper and I’ve made the Higher Ups aware of it.”  He placed a soft hand on his partner’s shoulder.  “I’m afraid, though, that Jack the Ripper won’t soon be forgotten.”

Grelle flinched at the mention of his former identity, as it brought forth painful memories.  Not of what he had done – those filthy whores got what they deserved, in his opinion.  And as for Madame Red…  Well, he did feel a little guilt over that, but it was fleeting.  She was weak and just as pathetic as the women they murdered.  No – what brought him pain was the memory of William’s reaction to the whole incident.  He had given the red reaper a sound beating in front of the brat and his pet demon, but after they had returned to headquarters was when he realized the extent of what he had done.  He had lost William’s respect and trust.  The tentative friendship that they had was shattered.  The supervisor had given testimony at his trial and though the man had asked for a lenient sentence on his behalf, it was owing only to the lack staff they had already.  Not once did William look at him during the trial or visit him while he was in confinement.  Grelle had gotten the impression that if they had a few more reapers on staff, William would not have lobbied for him and allowed the Higher Ups to execute the crimson reaper without so much as a second thought. 

That realization had broken Grelle’s heart. 

Throughout his confinement, he worked hard on whatever tasks he had been given, even though he hated every moment of it.  He attended his court-ordered therapy sessions without fail or complaint and took his prescribed medications as instructed.  He continued to do so even after he was reinstated eleven months ago.  While he could not curb his wild, flamboyant personality, he did his job and, with the minor exception of the Campania incident – it was not his fault, after all – he had no black marks on his record since his return.  He was determined to gain back William’s trust and it was finally paying off, even if it was coming back just a little at a time.

Apparently, though, he still had some work to do to earn back the trust of their superiors.  Oh, well…  As long as he had William’s, he would get there, eventually. 

He took hold of William’s arm and nuzzled his shoulder.  “Do we scout the area again tonight, darling?”

“No.  We’ll let the guard dog and his pet keep watch tonight.  If the demon makes a move on his own, then we’ll follow.”  He turned and looked at his partner.  “It’s been a long day.  Why don’t you get ready for bed while I get this report off to headquarters?”

Grelle gave him a light smile and nodded before gathering his night clothes and heading into the bathroom to change.  William sat down at the desk in front of the window and penned a quick report to Higher Ups.  He included a mention of the Phantomhive demon being present with its Contract holder, but that otherwise there was no unusual activity as yet and that Reaper Sutcliff was keeping well in-line.  He attached the note to the pigeon’s leg and sent it off, closing the window as a cold wind blew past.  As he moved to the bed to retrieve his pajamas, Grelle came back out to the bedroom, dressed in his nightgown.  The redhead sat down at the vanity and began removing the pins from his hair.  William went in and changed, quickly brushing his teeth and washing his face before going back out to sit in front of the fireplace.  As he looked through the ledger, Grelle came over to him and perched himself on the arm of the chair.  He lay one arm over the back of the chair and brought his other hand up to stroke and toy with William’s hair. 

“Tired yet, darling?” he asked, his voice soft.

“Not really,” the other murmured, leaning into the touch just slightly.  “You don’t need to wait up for me.” 

The two reapers sat in silence, the only sound in the room was crackling of the flames and the occasional rustling of the pages as William turned them.  The redhead lay his cheek atop his partner’s head, wrapping his arms around his neck.

“Is everything alright?  Between _us_ , I mean?” he asked.

The brunet turned his head just slightly to nuzzle the pale neck.  “Everything is fine, Grelle.”  He pulled back, causing Grelle to raise his head again so the two could look at each other.  “Go to bed.”  The younger one smiled and kissed the man’s forehead.  As he stood and padded over to the bed, William added, “Oh, and Grelle – do try and stay to your own side of the bed this time.”

Looking back at him, the redhead’s brow furrowed in confusion.  “ _This_ time?  What do you mean Will – wait.  You mean it _wasn’t_ a dream?!”  The charming blush on the brunet’s cheeks answered for him.  “Is _that_ why you were being such a grump this morning?” Grelle giggled.

William cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses as he looked back to the book.  “Good night, Grelle.”

 

 

_**Wow - you're still here?  Cool!  Please continue.. :)** _


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_ **

 

Grelle awoke to find William was still asleep and, sadly, on the opposite side of the bed.  He sighed, disappointed that he was unable to wake up and find that they had gotten wrapped in another accidental snuggle.  He rolled over so that they faced each other and watched his sleeping partner.  The brunet’s hair was mussed and his sleep-slackened features were devoid of his usual frown lines, making him appear younger and reminding Grelle of when they had met.  His soft lips were lightly parted as he snored, quietly.  A red painted nail slipped out from under the blankets to touch those lips, a motion which caused the older reaper to stir and roll onto his other side.  The redhead moved forward to plant a kiss at the base of partner’s neck and sat up.  The sun was not yet up, but Grelle decided to get out of bed anyway.  Changing into a simple dress and leaving his hair braided, he put on a coating of make-up before grabbing his cloak from the wardrobe and going downstairs.  In the lobby, he found the staff up and lighting the logs in the fireplaces.  He also caught the faint scent of breakfast cooking in the kitchens.

“G’ mornin’, Missus Spears,” came a cheery voice.

He turned and saw Abigail walking up to the desk, starting to dust it off with the rag in her hand.  “Good morning, Abby.”

“Ev’rythin’ alrigh’ this mornin’?” she asked.

“Oh, just fine, dear.  Couldn’t get back to sleep so I decided to go out and get some fresh air.  Maybe watch the sunrise.”

“Sounds lovely,” the young woman replied.  “Sunrises ova tha’ lake ‘r jus’ gorgeous.”

“I can imagine they would be,” Grelle smiled.  This girl was not so bad after all.  William made a lot of women blush, so he would forgive this one.  For now.  “If Mister Spears comes looking for me, tell him that’s where I’ll be.”

“Sure will, M’ Lady,” she smiled back.  “Any special requests fer breakfast this mornin’?”

“I don’t think so.  What we had yesterday will be just fine.  Oh, but could you pass along to not make the coffee _quite_ so strong this time?”

“Of course, M’ Lady.  Oh!  ‘Fore I forget – you ‘n Mister Spears retired las’ night ‘fore the announcement, but there’s goin’ ta be a ball here at the lodge t’night.  It’ll be start’n about seven.”

“Oh, how lovely!  I’ll be sure to tell William.”

As he made his way to the door, he passed by Sebastian who was on his way upstairs to see to preparations for his master’s morning routine.

“Missus Spears,” he greeted, voice as silky as ever and sending a shiver up Grelle’s spine.

He cleared his throat.  “Good morning, Mister Michaelis,” he said, continuing on.

“You’ve been admirably restrained since I arrived,” Sebastian remarked, keeping his voice down.  “Have I done something to upset you?”

Grelle stopped at his taunting and turned, an angry blush spreading across his cheeks.  “I happen to be a married woman, Mister Michaelis,” he replied.  “Just in case you’ve forgotten.”

“Remind me to thank Mister Spears for that.” 

The crimson reaper wanted nothing more than to slap that smile off of his face.  “You stay away from William,” he growled, protectively.

“I think your William is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, Mister Sutcliff,” Sebastian said with a slight roll of his eyes.

At that, Grelle marched over and slapped him, surprising the butler and for a moment making his eyes flash that demonic red.  “It’s _Missus Spears_ , butler.  Remember that.”

The demon stood in shock for a moment before bowing down on bended knee.  “My apologies, My Lady.  I did not mean to offend you.”  The sincerity was nothing but an act for those watching.

Grelle turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.  Taking in a deep breath of cool morning air helped to calm his temper and he continued on to his walk around the lodge.  The soft crunching of the ankle high snow was the only sound to be heard as he made his way towards the lake.  The trees had long since lost their leaves, though some still held onto a few stubborn ones which were slowly breaking off one-by-one in the wind.  A dusting of snow covered the frozen lake and the light of the sun peeking over the hills on the horizon gave it a charming, romantic glow.  The redhead pulled his cloak tighter around himself as he admired the view, wishing William was there to share it.

“Lovely morn’n, in’nit,” said a greasy voice behind him.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he turned a cautious eye on the drunken man beside him.  Davey’s bloodshot eyes leered at him, chapped lips pulled back into a rotted grin.  “That it is, sir.  I would, however, prefer to enjoy it on my own.  If you could please leave me be?”

The man looked around.  “Yer ‘usban’ no’ with ye this morn’n?”

Grelle’s eyes narrowed a bit.  “No.”  William’s warning ringing in his memory, he stepped back a little, but Davey only stumbled closer.

“Pi’y,” he said, his voice low, but too slurred to sound as seductive as he was trying to make it.  “Lovely lady like yerse’f shouldn’ a be out on yer own.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I am capable of taking care of myself.”  He felt a little sick as he watched the drunk step closer, licking his lips like a hungry animal.  “If you’ll excuse me?”

He started to turn to walk back to the lodge, when a vice-grip closed around his arm.  He was yanked back, his back pressed against a tree trunk, his arms pinned behind him.  “Where ye thin’ yer runnin’ off ta?”

“Let me go -!”  The redhead was silenced as the other hand came up and clamped over his mouth.

“Quiet down now, missy…”  He growled, his knee pressed between Grelle’s legs.  The hand on the redhead’s arm slid down the reaper’s body, pausing as the drunk felt something unexpected.  “The hell…?”  He pressed himself against the struggling redhead as he lifted the red skirts and roughly cupped the other’s groin.  The motion brought a moan, unbidden from Grelle’s throat.  Bloodshot brown eyes met fearful emerald ones.  “Yer a bloo’y bloke?!”

Angry tears welled in Grelle’s eyes as he struggled.  Davey jumped back and threw the redhead to the ground.  The reaper could see the disgust in his attacker’s eyes as the man dropped down on him, hauling back a fist to defend his offended – not to mention wounded – ego.  Before he could land the punch, however, he was struck on the side of the head, sending him rolling across the snow.  Grelle looked up and saw William standing over him, a heavy walking stick in hand.  The older reaper looked completely incensed as he advanced on the drunk.  Davey stumbled to his feet and threw a punch at the brunet, who easily dodged it, slamming the hilt of the stick into the other man’s stomach.  The drunk staggered back allowing William to swing the shaft of the cane against the man’s head again.  Davey’s dizzied eyes looked back up at the other man and saw a menacing green glow emitting from behind the rectangle frames.

Dazed and alarmed, the inebriated man turned and ran across the lake, slipping around on the ice.  He slid over a thinning patch and a loud cracking echoed throughout the field as he disappeared under the icy water.  A beam of light emerged from the hole in the ice, visible only to the reapers’ eyes, and formed into a long strip of film.  The walking stick in William’s hand shifted to its true form and the pruner’s blades shot forward, collecting the cinematic record.

The brunet reaper looked at the ledger in his other hand, reading over the man’s file.

“David Calder, born on the 15th day of June in 1859.  Died on the 12th day of December, 1889 of hypothermia caused by falling into a frozen lake.  Nothing else to note.”  Retracting his death scythe, he tucked the weapon under his arm and pulled a stamp from his jacket pocket, marking the file with a red “Completed” circle.  He dismissed the ledger and morphed the scythe back into a walking stick.  He turned to his partner and knelt down at his side, pulling him into his arms, his business-like manner gone.  “Are you alright, Grelle?”

Shaken, the redhead wrapped his arms around William’s neck, clutching the brown wool of his jacket.  “Yes.”

“Let’s get back inside.” 

He lifted Grelle into his arms, surprising the redhead, and held him close as he made his way back to the lodge.  On entering the lobby, he raised the alarm to send staff and curious on lookers out to the lake to try to save the man that had fallen through the ice.  He carried Grelle up to their rooms, finding the Earl awake and sitting in a chair by the fireplace as the demon poured him a cup of tea.  The two gave the reapers a curious look, which they ignored as William carried the redhead into their bedroom and closed the door.  He sat his partner on the bed and removed the red cloak, looking him over for injuries.  There were a few scrapes and bruises on his arms, but nothing that wouldn’t be healed by the time they finished breakfast.  Grelle fidgeted with his skirts as he tried to calm his racing heart.  William sat down beside him and laid a hand over his.

“Grelle?”

“I’m fine, Will,” the redhead said, quickly.  He gave the brunet an uneasy smile.  “Really.”

William was not the slightest bit convinced.  “Grelle.”  His grip on the redhead’s hands tightened as his free hand came up to rest on the other’s cheek.  “Did he… Did he _touch_ you?”  The younger male swallowed and nodded, silently.  William wrapped his arms around his partner and held him close to his chest, kissing the side of his forehead.  “I’m sorry…  Are you alright?”

Grelle took a few deep breaths to calm himself before nodding.  “I’m alright, darling,” he said, more surely this time, resting his hand on William’s arm.  “I’m alright, I promise.  Just a bit rattled, is all.”

The brunet nodded, gently nuzzling his partner.  Kissing the redhead’s temple again, he whispered, “Go clean yourself up.  They should be bringing breakfast up shortly.  I just want you to relax this morning.”

“No, Will – really, I’m just fine,” Grelle feebly protested.

“Sutcliff – are you going to disobey a direct order?”  Still so gentle and caring, William’s voice conveyed his usual authority.  The crimson male shivered and shook his head.  “Good.  Go on, now.”

Grelle pulled back and looked up at the brunet.  He took William’s face in his hands and placed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth.  “Thank you for coming to my rescue, Will.”  He received a hug in reply and he smiled.

As the younger reaper cleaned up and changed, the elder went out into the common area where he found young Phantomhive standing at the window, watching the commotion down by the lake.  The Earl turned to look at him, his expression emotionless.

“I presume that he’s already dead?” the boy said, as casually as asking about the weather.

“He is.”  William sat down in the corner of the sofa furthest from the boy and his demon. 

Ciel returned to his chair and resumed drinking his tea.  “If you could satisfy me on one point?”

The reaper glared at the boy from the corner of his eye.  “Perhaps.”

“I take it that you two are here on account of the unusual spike in unexplained deaths in the area?”

“That is correct.  Though we are technically to see to the collection of souls.  Our Forensics Department is heading up the investigation as to the _cause_ of most of the deaths.”

“I was under the impression that you reapers were _aware_ of the cause of death of individuals?”  Sebastian was genuinely curious on this point and it showed through in his voice.

“In most _normal_ circumstances, that is the case,” William said.  Though he hated discourse with the beast, he felt that there was no great need to keep the knowledge to himself.  “In most cases, when a new soul is created, its fate is known to the Association.  The time and manner of a person’s death is pre-recorded in our files.  The circumstances _leading_ to said manner of death, however, are not known and could change depending upon the individual’s environment.  And in rare cases, a person’s fate can be completely altered.”  He looked pointedly at Sebastian.  “Such as, if a _demon_ were involved for instance.  Depending upon the situation in such an occurrence, the human involved could find their life cut short _or_ dramatically lengthened.  The soul ledgers would show the inconsistency, but not necessarily the reason.  Thus, an investigation would be necessary.” 

“I trust it would be the same for when a human becomes a reaper?  Is that right?”

William’s brow furrowed, but he sighed in resignation.  “Yes.  Suicide is the one cause of death that will _never_ show in the pre-recorded files, outside of supernatural interference.  It’s the reason we reapers are in such short supply.” 

“I’m not sure I follow?” Ciel prodded, curiosity piqued.

“As humans are ultimately unpredictable, we have no advanced knowledge of a death by suicide.  Another time and manner of death would be listed on the person’s file and, as such a suicide would obviously alter both.  We could not know that in advance and be able to collect the soul, which leaves the soul vulnerable to be preyed upon.”

“For instance?”

William’s eyebrow twitched.  “Take my own death, for example.”  That had the Earl’s attention.  “According to my file, I was scheduled to die in 1803 after being infected by the plague.  However, I chose to put a loaded flintlock in my mouth and pull the trigger five years earlier.”  The bluntness and the accompanying mental image made the boy visibly cringe and William inwardly smiled.  _‘Serves you right, nosy little brat.’_   “The Association would have been expecting my death as it was scheduled.  They would not have been expecting me to die _ahead_ of that schedule.”

“Then how were they aware at all?” the boy asked.

“Most of the time, suicides are discovered by accident during a scheduled collection within the vicinity.  Grelle’s was such an instance, as I recall.”  He looked back at the door, wondering if the red-haired reaper was hearing any of this.  “In other, rarer instances, a particular soul could be under observation for certain reasons and early indicators of possible suicide could be detected by the investigating reaper.  He could then make the collection right away, once the suicide occurred.”

Ciel suspected that the reaper was eluding to himself with the latter instance.  Thinking better of asking about it, however, he moved on.  “So, then your Association is uncertain of what killed these people?”

“No.  Some were on the List and died as scheduled.  As to the rest, they were not scheduled, and there are no indications that any were suicide.  Though demonic interference is highly suspected in this case, we have yet to encounter one.”  William sneered at the butler.  “ _Present company_ excluded, of course.”  Looking back at the Earl, he continued, “Presumably, it was the condition of the bodies that prompted the Queen to send her _watchdog_ to investigate?”

Ciel nodded.  “Yes.  I’ve seen photographs of the corpses – all contorted with a frozen expression of fear.  Almost as if they had been frightened to death.”

“It wouldn’t be the first such instance,” the reaper replied.

A knock at the door ended any further discussion on the matter.  The demon went over and opened it, allowing the staff member on the other side to wheel in the breakfast cart.  As she set the table, William went back to the bedroom where he found his redheaded partner seated at the vanity, fixing his make-up. 

“Grelle?  Breakfast is here.”

“Alright, darling.  I’ll be right there.”  He finished applying his rouge and powder before getting up and walking to the door were William was standing.  “You didn’t have to wait for me, Will.”

“Well, I do pride myself on being a gentleman,” he replied, pulling a chair out for the redhead as the serving woman left the room.

“Thank you,” the younger male said as his partner pushed him in and sat down beside him.  He looked across the table at Earl.  “Good morning, brat.”

Ciel frowned, but refrained from retorting as Sebastian placed a full plate before him.  William proceeded to serve Grelle and himself, doing his best to ignore the presence of the other two.  Annoyance hung in the air as the three ate in silence, the demon standing nearby, amused by the scene in front of him.

On finishing their meal, the reapers returned to their room.

“I’m amazed that the lot of you haven’t killed each other, yet,” Grelle chuckled.

“I’m amazed that the boy has held his tongue all this time,” William replied.  “He was a good deal more vocal when we ran into each other during that affair at the circus.”

The redhead tapped his chin, thoughtfully.  “Well, that could have something to do with the timing.  As I recall, the anniversary of his parents’ death is in a few days.  That could be keeping the brooding little bugger quiet.”

William shrugged.  “Whatever the reason, so long as he keeps his mouth shut and stays out of our way.”

“I don’t suppose we’ve learned anything from each other, then?”  He looked at his love, gently.  “Aside from _them_ learning how _you_ died?”

“Oh… you heard that, then?”  The crimson one nodded.  The brunet sighed and sat down in the armchair he occupied the night before.  “They’re more in the dark than we are.”

“Demon contracts have that effect.”

William smiled and looked at his partner.  “Feeling better?”  He was answered with a soft smile and another nod.  The older reaper held out his hand, motioning for the other to come closer.  “Come here, Grelle.”

Grelle moved over to his partner, taking his hand, and was gently pulled down to sit on the man’s knee.  “Will…” he breathed, his surprise evident.

William’s arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer.  “Stay here,” he whispered, nuzzling the smaller male’s neck. 

The redhead felt his heart speed up and he shifted a little in the other man’s lap, making himself more comfortable.  He slid his arms around his partner’s neck and settled his head against the brunet’s. 

“You’re being awfully affectionate this morning, Will,” he said, quietly, his finger following along the gold tartan lines on the other’s brown vest.  “Not that I’m complaining, of course.”

“Of course...” 

William reached up and loosened the knot in his green tie, just enough to undo the button on his collar.  He smiled against the silken, red fringe brushing his cheek and turned to kiss it.  No words passed between them for some time.  They sat in front of the fire, taking comfort in each other’s presence. 

“Will…?” Grelle said, his voice barely audible.  “What is this?  What’s happening between us?”

William swallowed, afraid to answer.  “I – I don’t know…”

“Do… do you like it?”  Oh, please let this be what he hoped it was…

The brunet hesitated, but nodded, tightening his grip on the other and kissing his shoulder.  “I still think we should wait to discuss it, though.  We mustn’t get…”  He looked up into the green eyes in front of him and his breath caught.  “… We mustn’t get distracted.”

“I think it’s too late for that,” Grelle murmured, tracing his fingers along the line of William’s jaw. 

“Perhaps…”  The tip of his tongue darted out to moisten his drying lips.  “But, I think it’s best…  If I… I don’t know – if I think too much on it right now, I’m afraid I might change my mind…”

A thin, red-tipped finger gently touched his lips.  “Then don’t think so much…”

The finger slid slowly from those soft lips as he leaned in.  William accepted the kiss, returning it as best he was able, his inexperienced lips fumbling against the painted ones before them.  Allowing Grelle’s experience to take the lead, he let his hands wander where they would along the lithe figure on his lap.  The redhead’s hands came up to cradle his face, gently holding him steady as he trained those pale lips properly.  Needing to feel more, William tore off his black gloves and laced his fingers through the crimson tresses.  Practiced hands blindly undid his tie and started in on the buttons of his vest, trying to remove all barriers to the sculpted chest underneath.  He felt Grelle’s smile as a hand slipped inside his shirt, causing a whimper to escape his throat as his muscles quivered at the unfamiliar touch. 

Grelle broke the kiss to let his partner catch his breath, trailing his lips down the side of William’s face and neck to suck at the base of his throat.  He heard the brunet’s gasp as his sharpened teeth scraped at the tender flesh, but he did nothing to push him away. 

“Grelle…” 

Oh, how he had always dreamed of making William moan like that!  And the way his body arched into him…  Grelle quickly covered the brunet’s mouth with his own again, his kiss hungrier than before.  He was surprised when the other answered him with equal, if clumsy, passion.

Realization started sinking in, though, as they began to pull at each other’s clothing.

“Grelle – wait…” William panted around kisses.  “Wait…”

“I don’t think I can, Will…” the redhead breathed into his partner’s neck, fingers tangled in the soft brown locks.

“Please, Grelle.  Not here… Just – just wait until after the collection.”  Breathless, rasping, desperate, so – utterly un-William-like.  So that was how William T. Spears sounded when he begged.  Grelle fairly swooned over the fact that the man was begging him, of all people.  And for once, it was not in a dream.  “Just one more day, Grelle, that’s all I’m asking.” 

The redhead managed a few deep breaths to calm himself.  “I’ve waited almost a century, darling.”  The admission made tears well in his eyes, threatening to spill over.

“I know… but please – just wait _one more day_.”  He kissed his crimson partner once more.  “Then, I’m yours.  I promise.”

The red reaper groaned in frustration.  “Alright.  But no backing out on me, you understand?”

“I think it’s fairly obvious that I’ve made my decision,” William whispered, brushing the tip of his nose against Grelle’s.

“I’m holding you to that, Mister Spears.”  They shared one more, soft kiss before disentangling themselves and standing to straighten their hair and clothing.  William allowed his eyes to linger on Grelle, as though trying to memorize this scene.  The redhead saw this and giggled, turning slightly and shaking his hips, teasingly.  “Are you sure that _you_ can wait one more day, darling?”

The older reaper growled and reached out, grabbing the smaller male, which earned him a satisfying squeak of surprise.  He pulled him back against his chest, burying his face in the crook of his partner’s neck.  “Stop making everything so bloody difficult, Sutcliff.”

 

 

_**Little shorter than the last two - thought I'd give you a chance to back out now.  No?  Ok, then... ^_^** _


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_ **

 

Grelle walked at his partner’s side, arms looped around the brunet’s.  They were walking down the street in town towards a dress shop that Grelle had seen the day before. 

“Remind me again as to _why_ you’re taking me dress shopping?” William asked.

The redhead giggled.  “Because, Will – there’s a ball tonight and I need a new gown.”

“Why not wear one of the dresses you brought with you?”

“Oh, none of those are appropriate for a ball, dear.”  William’s blank look was adorable and caused the crimson reaper to nuzzle his cheek and coo, “I promise, I won’t be long, darling.”

“I just don’t understand it,” William sighed.

“That’s because you think like a _man_ , dearest.  As an actress, I have to think like a woman.”

“Well, _that_ just clears everything up.”

Grelle laughed and pulled him inside the shop.  The brunet had a flattering shade of pink on his cheeks as the smaller male looked at the various mannequins dressed in ladies’ wear.  The crimson reaper’s eyes alighted on one particular gown in his favorite hue and he released William’s arm to get a closer look.  It was certainly more modern than other gowns in the shop.  Without hoops, it did not flare out as many dresses did, but instead flowed out naturally from the tapered waistline, helping to flatter the female figure and allow for freedom of movement.  There was also no ridiculous bustle – William simply did not understand the appeal with that particular accessory.  The skirt, the seamstress was telling Grelle, was designed in a “nine-gore” form, a new up-and-coming style in high society fashion.  There were also no sleeves, a rather unusual choice in the day-and-age.  Instead, it sported large straps of folded silk that fell from the shoulders and joined at the top of the corset, the folds giving a bit of modesty and elegance.  It sat lower in the back than most exposed-shoulder gowns, dropping down to slightly below the shoulder blades.  The gown was beautifully embroidered with black scrolling and embossed in darker red with similar patterns.  Overall, the design was simple without an over embellishment of bows and frills, making it all the more elegant.  It was accessorized with red silk, elbow-length gloves and delicate silver chains sewn at the waist.

As Grelle was fitted for the gown, William wandered aimlessly, casually looking at the accessories.  He noticed one particular item and traced his fingers over it. 

“What do you think, my love?” he heard his partner ask.

He turned and saw Grelle, wearing the gorgeous gown and his breath caught.  “It’s lovely.  You look beautiful, darling.”

It was Grelle’s turn to blush and he twirled a bit, giving his partner a good look.  “You think so?  It will have to be taken-in a bit, but this young lady says that she can have it ready in a few hours.”  He gestured to the young woman at his side, who was setting in a final pin.

“Most certainly, my lady,” she said.  “If you two would like to go and browse a few of the shops, maybe have lunch down the road, I can have this ready for you by the time you’re ready to return to the lodge.”

“Perfect!”  Grelle went back behind the screen and changed, giving the gown to girl.  “We’ll be back around three o’clock, dear.”

Taking the girl’s advice, the two reapers left the shop and went to browse through the stores, some of which they had been to the day before.  As they walked down the street, William noticed a few men looking in Grelle’s direction, openly admiring the beautiful figure.  He slipped his arm out of Grelle’s hold and wrapped it around his waist, protectively.  The redhead smiled at the gesture, and snuggled against his partner. 

“Still feeling protective, my darling?”

“After this morning?  Yes.”

“Mmm… such a prince.”  The redhead giggled, tracing his finger down the older man’s jaw.

“Hardly,” William shrugged.  “I’m merely concerned about the amount of paperwork I would have to deal with if you were harmed in the field.”  He chuckled at Grelle’s pout and kissed the tip of his nose, earning him a tiny squeal.

“So cruel, Will~”

As the two continued down the street, they spotted the Earl and his demon.  Four sets of eyes met in distain, but suddenly both William and Sebastian looked away.  As their eyes scanned the immediate area, William, subconsciously pulled Grelle closer to him.

“Darling, what is it?”

“I think our target is nearby,” William said.  His grip on the walking stick tightened as well.  “Let’s move off the street.”

Unseen by living eyes, the two reapers disappeared into an alleyway before making their way up onto a rooftop.  The elder felt the butler’s eyes on them as they looked about.  William’s attention was drawn to the northeast corner of the village.  Grelle looked to his love and followed his gaze.  After a moment, he, too felt the disturbance.

“Will?”

“Let’s hurry,” was all the brunet said, before leaping across the rooftops. 

The reapers reached the edge of the town, only to find a body lying in the snow.  Even from the rooftop, they could see the face of the man contorted in pain and fear.  Landing silently on the ground, William knelt beside the corpse and examined it.  As he placed the tip of his death scythe to the man’s chest, the cinematic record failed to appear.

“Damn it.”  The soul had already been stolen.

“I don’t recall _him_ being on the List,” Grelle said, closely examining the man’s twisted face.

William summoned the ledger and flipped through the pages.  “That’s because he isn’t.”

“Oh, dear…  Administrations isn’t going to like this.”  The two looked up at the new voice and found a small reaper standing before them.  He wore a long, white lab coat over his suit, rather than the usual black blazer and vest.  On his feet were simple wooden sandals held over grey, woolen socks by thick red straps.  His thick, greenish hair stuck out in all directions, as though the man had never heard of a hair brush.  His spectacles consisted of two large circular lenses held together and balanced on the bridge of his nose by a simple piece of brass.  Though he was one of the older reapers, he was young in appearance and mannerisms.  “Afternoon, gents.” 

“Well, well ~…  If it isn’t my favorite fashion disaster,” Grelle said.  William could not tell if the redhead was pleased or annoyed to see the man.

The brunet looked at the newcomer.  “I hope the Forensics Department is making _some_ progress, Othello.”

Othello scratched the back of his head, his agitation showing through.  “Whatever the hell this thing is, it’s got us stumped.”  He knelt down next to the corpse.  “Same contorted expression as the others… Rigor mortis has already set in?  That’s fast…  Yep!  Not straightening those limbs out any time soon… no visible injuries…  This thing is careful not to leave a trace of itself on its victims.  ‘Fraid we’re not getting very far with this.  William?”

The brunet had stopped listening and seemed focused on something on the ground.  His head cocked slightly and he stood, walking around the body.  Crouching again, he examined the series of prints in the snow.

“Looks like a horse went through here,” Othello said, looking over the man’s shoulder.  “Maybe it got spooked and threw the guy.”

“Then why didn’t it run away?” William asked.

“Eh?”

“Look,” the brunet motioned at the tracks.  “The animal walked up to the man, stopped, then calmly turned and walked back in the direction it came from.  A corpse would frighten a such a sensitive animal.  This one doesn’t seem to have shown any sign of alarm, otherwise the tracks would not be so clear.”

The scientist looked at the tracks again.  “Well, I’ll be damned…”

“Were there tracks like this at the other scenes?”

“Hang on a minute.”  Othello pulled a folder from his coat and shuffled through the papers within.  “Yeah, there were.  We made note of everything at each scene, but didn’t think too much of those prints, honestly.  Seeing horse tracks in the countryside isn’t anything out of the ordinary.”

“What are you thinking, Will?” Grelle asked, hoping that his partner was actually on to something.

“Judging by the size of these tracks,” William said, mostly to himself as he placed his hands alongside the prints to measure them, “either this was a _very_ calm Shire… or we may be dealing with a Púca.”

“A what?”  The reapers turned to the young Earl as the demon knelt to examine the tracks.

“A Púca, my lord,” Sebastian said.  “Surely you were told of such creatures in your youth?”

“They’re just fairy tales.”  The four mythical entities cast their eyes on the boy.  “Never mind.”

“As much as it pains me to say it, my lord, I believe that the reaper is right.”  The butler stood and turned to his master, ignoring William’s glare.  “These tracks were not made by any ordinary horse.”

“Othello.”  The Forensics reaper looked up at William from where he was collecting notes and samples from the hoof prints.  “Return to Dispatch and inform them that we’re dealing with an ethereal animal.  We made need a wrangler or two to assist.”

“Do I look like a carrier pigeon?”  The scientist cringed under the icy glare from the superior.  “On my way,” he grinned, sheepishly, saluting and vanishing back to their realm.

“And what do _we_ do, Will?” Grelle asked.

The elder reaper looked at his partner.  “ _You_ may want to go back to the lodge and change, unless you want that dress to get ruined.”

“Oh, it won’t be the first time I’ve had to fight in skirt, darling,” the redhead said with a dismissive wave.

“Suit yourself.  Let’s go, then.”  He started off, following the tracks towards the forest.

 

“I did warn you to change, didn’t I?” the brunet sighed as the younger reaper growled at yet another rip in his skirt.

“I wasn’t expecting that we would traipsing about in the woods for this long,” the redhead grumbled.  “You know, we have to pick up my gown in an hour.”

“Would you stop complaining?”  The smaller one huffed, pouting and crossing his arms like a petulant child as he walked behind the other.  His partner suddenly stopped, giving him no warning and causing him to bump into him.  The brunet sighed and adjusted his glasses.  “Listen…  Do you hear that?”

Grelle froze and tried to hear whatever it was that William was referring to.  After a moment he heard it – a soft, metallic-sounding clanking noise in the distance.  “What is that?”

“It appears to be coming from just over that ridge,” Sebastian said. 

Using his scythe as an anchor, William scaled the small hill, helping Grelle climb up behind him, the Earl and his demon bringing up the rear.  At the crest, they crouched low and peered over an upturned tree.  In the clearing stood the equine, pawing at the ground in agitation and shaking its head, causing the chains about its body to rattle.  The creature appeared to be a normal, if large, stallion.  It sported a dark bay coat and a long, dark oily mane and tail, with feathering from shin to hoof.  It was lithe and all muscle and one might have mistaken it for a large Warlander, if not for the ghostly glow it emitted.  It nickered, quietly and its greenish-gold eyes flashed at them, clearly aware that it was being observed.

“Is that it?” Ciel asked.

“Indeed, my lord,” the demon replied.

“Well, what now?” Grelle asked.

“Stay here.”

“What?”  The redhead watched as his partner slowly stood and made his way towards the creature.  “Wait – Will…”

William cautiously approached the animal, death scythe ready in case it attacked.  The creature eyed him, suspiciously, taking a few steps back and giving an equine grunt in warning.  The reaper understood and stopped, crouching a little to give the impression that he was no threat and continued forward, slowly.  The Púca was not fooled and stamped it hooves, shrieking angrily.  William stopped and dropped to his knee, watching the animal from the hooves, up, but not meeting its eyes. 

“Well, he certainly knows what he’s doing, I’ll give him that,” said a voice beside Grelle.

“Didn’ ‘e work with horses when ‘e was alive?  Heard ‘e’s got a bit of a thing for ‘em.”  The redhead ignored the two new reapers, keeping his worried eyes on his partner. 

“Yeah, but a Púca is bit different from a horse, lad.  This could get ugly real fast if he’s not careful.”

“Indeed.  Supernatural equines are more intelligent and far more vicious than their earthly counterparts,” the butler explained to his master.  “They must be handled with extreme caution.”

“Will all of you shut-up?” Grelle growled.

William was closer to the beast now and it seemed to have calmed in his presence.  He slowly stood, placing a hand on its large neck, petting it cautiously in an attempt to keep it calm.  Looking the animal over, he noticed a manacle amidst its own chains, keeping it secured to a stake in the ground.

He looked back up at the creature, finally meeting its eyes.  “You’re not responsible for all of this trouble, are you?” he said, softly.  The equine’s nose bumped his arm as the animal gave a terse whine.  “Easy now.  Easy…” 

As he stroked the animal, the shears of his death scythe clipped the chain keeping it prisoner.  Feeling its shackle loosen, the Púca stepped back, shaking itself and rearing slightly to stretch its newly freed limbs.  Once settled, it approached its liberator, nudging its large snout against his chest in gratitude.

“Well, I’ll be…”  The other three reapers watched, dumbfounded as the creature nuzzled the fourth, clearly not as dangerous as they had originally thought.  “This must be one o’ the nicer ones, then.”

“Well, if that’s true, then it couldn’t be the one stealing souls.  Could it?”

“Doubtful.  Those ones usually offer help to humans, rather than harm them.  Other than that, they usually just want to be left alone.  Soul stealing doesn’t interest them.”

William continued to stroke and pat the animal as it made friends with him.  “So, who put you up to those bad things, hm?” he asked.  “Who’s been trying to frame you for all of this?”  The stallion nickered, pushing its head against the reaper’s chest and tapping its hoof.  The brunet chuckled, patting the creature’s cheek.  “Good boy.”  The animal allowed the reaper to take gentle hold of its long mane and lead it over to the others.  “Well, so much for this being our culprit.  I seriously doubt that he managed to shackle himself to that post.”

“So, someone else is holdin’ ‘is reins, then?  So to speak?”  William frowned at the bad pun and the younger wrangler stepped back, head bowed and cheeks pink with embarrassment.

“Want us to take him back with us, sir?” the other asked, trying to distract from the first’s comment. 

“No, I’ll handle him,” William said, patting the equine’s nose.  “He might be helpful if his partner shows up again.”  Seeming to understand and agree, the stallion bumped his nose against the reaper’s cheek.

“Well, you certainly seem to have him under control, so we’ll leave him to you, sir.”  The two wranglers disappeared, leaving their fellow reapers with the Earl and his butler.

“So – this is a Púca?” Ciel asked, cautiously reaching out his hand in child-like curiosity.  The creature shied away, not trusting the human.

“I would be careful, young lord,” William warned.  “He might be alright with me, right now, but we don’t know what all his previous handler might have done to him.  He may lash out at the rest of you.”

The boy withdrew his hand and the animal noticeably calmed.  William gently petted the stallion’s nose, reassuringly and it nuzzled him in response.

“Perhaps we should return to the lodge now, my lord,” Sebastian said.  “Seeing as the reapers appear to have this matter well in hand?”

As the two departed, Grelle looked at his partner, who was practically fawning over the animal.  “Are you planning to keep him?” the redhead joked.

William chuckled.  “Unfortunately, my apartment doesn’t allow pets of this size.”  Looking over at the younger male, he said, “Let’s go back and get your gown.  And you may want to come up with a viable excuse as to how that one got torn up.”

Grelle giggled through a cheshire grin.  “I’ll simply say that my husband and I went for a _romp_ in the woods.”

“Sutcliff!”

 

On returning to the lodge, William left the stallion in the stables, warning the grooms to be careful as the animal was extremely anxious.  A “borrowed” blanket from a stable in town concealed its chains and its spectral glow had dissipated on leaving the forest and entering the sunlight. 

Back in their room, the two reapers were resting on the bed.  The redhead was curled-up on his partner’s chest, pecking soft kisses along his neck and jaw.  The older reaper was dozing to the soft touches, lazily tracing his fingers up and down the other’s arm. 

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you, my love?” the smaller male said.  “I thought those creatures were impossible to tame.”

“Not all of them,” William muttered, sleepily.  “Some are just extremely difficult, provided you’re dealing with one of the kindlier ones.  The more malevolent ones – they may fall under the ‘impossible’ category.  Though, I wouldn’t say that I’ve _tamed_ the creature.  We’ve merely established a rapport and it knows that I won’t harm it.”

Grelle shrugged, not much caring for the difference.  He rolled over top of his partner, eyes shining down with adoration as a painted fingertip traced the brunet’s lips.  “You’re still amazing, darling.”  He looked back at the clock on the mantle.  “I guess I should start getting ready for the ball.”

“Hmm…”  William was already drifting off to sleep.

“Are you just going to sleep right through it?” the redhead chuckled.

“Nnn…”  His eyes were closed and the other was unsure if he was actually hearing him anymore.

Grelle sighed.  “I guess I’ll be going by myself, then, eh?”

“Mnnn…”

“Maybe _Bassy_ can be my escort.”  Strong arms instantly clamped around him and he found himself flipped over on the bed with a half-asleep William lying on top of him.  “ _Oh my_ ~” he giggled. “Someone _is_ jealous.”

He was answered with a sleepy grunt as the brunet’s arms tightened around him.  “Mine.”

The redhead’s eyes welled, not certain that the man was aware of what he had just said.  His own arms came up around his love and gently petted him, kissing his cheek.  “Yes, darling,” he whispered.  “Now and always…”

 

“How did I let you talk me into this?”

“Oh, cheer up, Will.  You look like you’re having a bad time.”

“A large gathering of people like this is practically like ringing a dinner bell for our target.  I prefer to be keeping an eye out for it.”  The brunet sighed.  “Besides, I dislike formal events.”

“I gathered that from all the years of you looking miserable at the Association formals.”  Grelle slid his arms up around the other’s neck and smiled.  “At least _pretend_ like your enjoying yourself.  Please, my darling?”

“I’m _not_ your –” He saw the pain flash through Grelle’s eyes and stopped himself.  Wrapping his arms around the red reaper, he pulled the younger male close.  “I’m sorry, Grelle.  Conditioned response, I suppose.”  He gave a light chuckle and pressed a soft kiss to the painted lips.  “Forgive me?”

The other smiled and returned the kiss.  “Am I going to have to retrain you, Mister B-Average?”

The brunet’s smile was warm as he pressed his forehead to his partner’s.  “Do you like your little gift?”

Grelle brought up the soft velvet and brushed it against the other man’s cheek.  “It’s lovely.”

“I know you prefer _red_ , but –”

“No, darling, it’s perfect.”  The fine shawl was presently draped loosely across his back, the lengthened ends looped over his elbows.  He had been greatly surprised when William had returned to their room and presented him with the rich velvet piece.  He had thought that the man was asleep as he went to get ready for the ball, but it seemed that the brunet had snuck back out to the village as his partner bathed.  The crimson reaper had been ecstatic over the present.  It was a vibrant, beautiful shade of purple – William’s favorite color – and it accented Grelle’s new gown perfectly.  “Further proof that we were always meant to be together~”

William chuckled, kissing the tip of the other reaper’s nose.  “You are overly romantic.  You do know that, right?”

“Only because I’m so very much in love, my darling.”  He toyed with the brunet locks and kissed the man again.  The older reaper pulled his watch from his pocket to check the time.  There were mere hours left until the collection and he was determined to be on schedule.  The younger sighed.  “How much longer?”

“Less than two hours.”

“Plenty of time for a dance,” the younger suggested.

“Grelle, I –”

The redhead put a finger over the other man’s lips.  “Don’t even try to tell me that you don’t dance.  I _know_ you can – I’ve seen you.  The few times those hussies at the office have managed to get you onto the dance floor…”  He muttered the last with considerable contempt as his cheeks turned pink in frustration.

“ _Now_ who’s jealous?” William laughed.

“Hmph!” 

The crimson reaper turned away, folding his arms and pouting.  He felt William walk around to stand in front of him and looked up to meet those eyes that he adored so much.  As if in dream, his love bowed and extended his hand to him.  His heart felt as though he were running a marathon as he took William’s hand and was led to the dance floor.  Surely, he would faint any moment or, worse still, suddenly wake only to find that he was all alone in his room yet again.  A waltz was soon rising from the musicians’ instruments and Grelle felt his knees go weak as William placed a guiding hand on the curve of his lower back.

The brunet reaper placed his lips to the ear of the redhead, his warm breath tickling the porcelain skin.  “If my lady desires a dance, then I shan’t refuse.”

Cheeks flushed beneath his make-up, Grelle was beginning to feel a bit light-headed as William gracefully twirled them about the floor.  A gentle smile graced the brunet’s soft lips and all doubts were banished from the red reaper’s mind.  Not even in his most vivid fantasies had this man formed such a true smile.  His silk covered fingers left their perch on the brunet’s shoulder, so as to slide up to ghost over those soft lips, and were greeted with gentle kiss.  They traced William’s cheek back to his ear and curled, softly around the back of his neck.  Feeling the gentle pressure, the elder reaper leaned forward and kissed the other.  Grelle was grateful for the arm around his waist, as he was certain he would have collapsed.  It was all that his heart had dreamed and longed for, ever since their battle on that rooftop in London all those years ago.  That very moment when he had fallen in love with the man before him.

“Grelle, what’s the matter?”  William’s concerned voice made him aware of the moisture on his face.

“Nothing, my darling,” he replied in a cracked voice.  He drew in a trembling breath and said in a whisper, “I just love you so much…”

He was pulled tighter against the strong, warm body in front of him and they slowed their movements until they were gently swaying to the music.  William lay his cheek against Grelle’s, kissing the redhead’s ear.

“I’m sorry for never seeing that until now.”

Whatever reserve Grelle had left was now gone and he crumbled in William’s arms.  The brunet reaper steadied his partner off of the dance floor and over to a sofa along the wall.  He gave the younger male his handkerchief and held him close as he dried his eyes.

“Grelle, what is it?” he asked, rubbing the smaller one’s back.  “Have I said something wrong?”

“No,” Grelle choked out.  “Just the opposite, my love.  I’ve been waiting forever for you to recognize that my feelings for you are real.”

“Oh, Grelle…”  He brought the red reaper’s face to his and kissed him again.

The peace was broken by a woman’s scream and the two reapers jumped apart, looking towards the commotion.  Colonel Mason had collapsed to floor, clawing at the air, eyes wide as his face and body twisted in pain.  Standing over him was a dark figure, hooded and cloaked, reaching out a nearly emaciated, pale hand with claw-like fingers, seeming to control the man’s spastic movements.  They heard the Earl call to his butler to intervene as the other guests scattered, running from the ballroom in terror.  The demon moved to advance on his brethren, but Grelle was much faster.  He leapt to his feet and charged at the figure, his death scythe roaring to life in his hands before William could even stand.

“ _Excuse me!_ ” Grelle screamed at the figure, swinging his scythe and driving it back, breaking its hold on its victim.  “Will and I were having a _moment_!”

William summoned his own scythe and rushed forward to aid his partner.  Faced with two reapers and a demon, the creature withdrew through an open window and out to the road where the guests were scrambling into coaches to escape.  The reapers followed, Sebastian right behind them as the young Earl rushed to keep up.  They chased the creature across the field, towards the lake.  Grelle managed to race ahead and get in front of it, as William and the butler flanked it.  The hooded figure looked around at its pursuers.  The blades of William’s death scythe shot out to clip its target at the same moment that Sebastian threw a set of fine silver knives.  The creature dodged both, but lost its cloak as the garment snagged on the pruner’s shears. 

Looking up through long, tangled, greasy black hair, her crimson eyes flashed angrily at her attackers.  With a shriek, her nails slashed at the air, forming it into blade-like strikes and sending it at them.  The three combatants were knocked from their feet and the creature advanced on William, who landed on his back.  The brunet reaper was able to bring up his death scythe before she pounced on him and tried to push her off as she struggled against the metal shaft.  She opened her mouth, revealing rows of needle-like teeth and lunged forward to bite him, all the while shrieking and growling like an animal.  She was strong, despite her frail appearance, and William was finding it difficult to keep her back.  Relief flooded him as a familiar hum sounded near his ear and the creature was thrown back, screaming from the wounds to her arm and side.

“Keep your ugly face away from  my man, wench!”  Grelle knelt down beside William, helping him to sit up.  “Are you alright, Will?”

“I’m fine – LOOK OUT!” 

His scythe shot forward as the creature leaped at them again.  The blades clipped her side and she screamed again, staggering back.  She rushed at them again as the reapers stood, only to be blocked by another, larger figure.  The Púca, having heard the commotion from the stables, had charged out into the field and now reared, screaming angrily and flailing its hooves at the creature, driving her back from the reapers.  She shrieked and scratched at the stallion, attempting to scare it off, but a large hoof caught her shoulder, sending her to ground.  The animal continued its assault, trying to trample her as she scrambled about to avoid it hooves.  Her hands shot out and grabbed onto its chains, making the stallion scream in pain.  She hissed and growled as she had done at William, trying to bite the animal as it struggled back away from her.  The Púca slipped in the snow and fell to the ground, landing on its side with a sickening thud.  It flailed all four hooves at the creature, shrieking as she pinned its head and neck to ground.  She opened her mouth and lunged down to bite.

A ball of bright blue light slammed into her, sending her flying back to the edge of the lake, giving the Púca a chance to scramble to its feet and gallop out of the way.  William and Grelle stood side by side, the blades of their death scythes crossed over one another.  An almost electric looking energy sparked between the two weapons as the reapers prepared another attack.

“This certainly brings back memories, my darling~” Grelle said, grinning menacingly at their opponent.

“Let’s just finish this, Sutcliff,” William replied, stoic and focused as ever.  “We can reminisce later.”

“Ahhh~  Just as cold as you were then, my love.”

The red reaper could have sworn that he saw the corner of his partner’s mouth part in a grin as they unleashed the energy attack at the creature.  She managed to dodge, leaping into the air, letting the sphere sail beneath her.  Expecting her to do so, William’s death scythe stretched out, fully impaling her through her chest.

“Now, Grelle.”

The crimson one leaped forward, scythe revving loudly.  Swinging it out, the blade severed the creature’s head from her body, causing blood to splatter everywhere.  Grelle cursed as it stained his new gown and landed neatly in the snow, the head landing a few feet away.  His partner quickly retracted his weapon, letting the decapitated body land on the ground.  He swung the blade off to the side, throwing off some of the dripping blood before walking up to the corpse. 

William prodded the body with the tip of his death scythe.

“What was this thing?” Grelle asked.

His partner looked over at the butler, who reached down to pick up the severed head to examine it.  Ciel stood beside him, grimacing at the grotesque visage.

“It appears to have been a hybrid,” Sebastian said.  “A demon and vampire hybrid to be precise.”

“A vampire?” Ciel asked, incredulously.  “So, they’re real as well?”

“After all these years surrounded by the occult, you would doubt that, my lord?”  The demon smiled, haughtily.  “All myths and fairy tales begin with, at least, a small bit of truth.”

The boy frowned at his butler, but let the matter drop.  “So, then _this_ is what was responsible for all of the murders?”

“It would appear so, my lord.”  He looked over at the two reapers.  “I have no doubt that the Grim Reapers will continue to look into the matter, but I would say that our part in this is over.”

“Not that you did much, to begin with,” Grelle muttered, trying to clean the blood off of his dress with a handkerchief.

“Never mind, Sutcliff,” William said.  “We’ll have the Forensics Department take the body back to lab for examination.”  He looked over to the trees.  “If you would care to come out of hiding now, Othello?”

The Forensics reaper stepped out from his hiding place, grinning sheepishly at the superior.  “Seriously?!” Grelle shouted.  “You were standing there the whole time?”

Othello held his hands up in front of him, defensively, trying to laugh the incident away.  “I figured our two best reapers had the situation under control.  Besides, you know I pretty much flunked Practical Skills back at the academy.  I don’t think I would have been much help.”

“True.  The horse was more helpful,” William murmured to his partner, making the crimson one giggle.

As Othello came forward to examine the corpse, taking the head from Sebastian as he did so, the Púca walked up to the brunet and nudged his arm.  The reaper patted the stallion’s nose.

“Good boy,” William said.  “Thank you.” 

He received a nicker in response as the animal nuzzled his chest.  The Púca’s ears twitched and he jerked his head back with an equine grunt.  Something had him agitated and screams of both the human and equine sort rising in the distance alerted them to the problem.  William checked his pocket watch.  _12:47._

“Looks like it’s time to punch-in, Will,” Grelle said, looking over the brunet’s shoulder.

“Let’s get this over with,” the other sighed, replacing his watch.

The redhead placed his lips to his partner’s ear.  “Whoever collects the most, gets to start things off?”

“Provided they’re collected _properly_ ,” William clarified.  “Additional paperwork tends to kill the mood for me.”

“Oh – has _that_ been the problem all these years?” Grelle laughed.

The elder reaper smirked and pushed up his glasses before gesturing Grelle ahead of him.  “Ladies first.”

As his fellow reapers headed off to the carnage down the road, Othello looked over at the demon his master.  “Is something going on between those two?”

Ciel stared blankly at the retreating forms of the two reapers as Sebastian merely shrugged his shoulders. 

“I may be wrong, but I think that I just lost an admirer,” the demon said, clearly relieved.

 

 

 

_**We're in the home stretch!  Just one chapter to go - can you handle it?!  ^_^** _


	5. Epilogue

**_Epilogue_ **

 

Ronald Knox ceased the dizzying spinning of his desk chair on seeing Grelle enter the office.

“Mornin’, Mister Sutcliff!” he said, cheerfully, whilst trying to steady himself as the room was still turning about.  “Nasty rain out, isn’t there?”  The red reaper sighed and plopped down in his red chair, setting his beloved scythe on the floor.  He looked positively miserable.  Ronald wondered what was wrong – his mentor was usually more cheerful, even on a Monday morning.  “Everything alright?”

“I guess so…”  Grelle leaned his elbows on the desktop, resting his chin in his hands as he stared out the window.

“Uh… okay.”  Ronald scratched his head.  “Did you have a good weekend?  I was trying to get ahold of ya to ask how your mission with Mister Spears went.”  Was Grelle blushing?

“Oh, um – sorry about that, Ronnie,” he said.  “I was a bit busy.  My weekend was just lovely.  As to the mission, well…  It went alright, I suppose.”

The junior reaper raised an eyebrow.  “Just _alright_?  Three days alone with Mister Spears – I was expectin’ more of a tale from you,” he chuckled.

Grelle’s blush deepened and he cleared his throat.  “Speaking of Will – have you seen him, yet today?”

“He was heading out on a reap when I got here.  Hasn’t been back yet.”

“Oh.”  The redhead sighed and returned to staring blankly out the window.

The young blond frowned now.  Something certainly had his friend upset.  “Uh, Senior?  Are you sure everything’s alright?  You don’t seem like yourself this morning.”

“I’m alright, Ronald, really,” the redhead sighed.  “I was just hoping to see William this morning before he went out on his reaps, that’s all.  Who knows how long he’ll be gone if he’s already left before we even got to work?”

“You sure that’s all it is?”

“I needed to talk to him about something.  It’s a personal thing – nothing to be worried over.”

“Can you talk to me about it?”

Grelle smiled.  “I’m afraid not, dear.  It’s something between me and Will.  You’re sweet to be concerned, though.”  He ruffled the younger’s hair.

Ronald shrugged, running his fingers back through his hair to straighten it.  “If you say so.”  A thought occurred to him.  “Hey – about Mister Spears.  Is it true that he brought back a Púca from that mission?  One that had been under the control of some demon-hybrid?”

“Word gets around quick,” the redhead giggled.  “He certainly did.  And it’s a beautiful animal.”  He sighed dreamily.  “I dare say it will make a gorgeous mount for him once he has it trained.”  He hugged himself, wiggling in his seat, no doubt imagining his prince spiriting him away atop the beast like a fairy tale maiden.

“Uh… yeah…” 

At least his friend had cheered up a little.  The junior soon became distracted by the secretary walking their way.  She walked up to Grelle, a note in hand.

“Begging your pardon, Mister Sutcliff?” she said, handing him the envelope.  “Supervisor Spears asked me to give you this when you came in.”

“Hn?”  Grelle ceased his fantasizing and looked at the envelope, curiously.  He took it from her and, seeing his name scrawled on the front in William’s beautiful script, he opened it, giggling, “Oh, my darling William is sending me _love notes_ , now!”

The other two reapers shared a look, hers confused and his amused.  Ronald shrugged and mouthed, “Just go with it.”  She rolled her eyes and walked away.  He looked back his senior, who was reading over the note with a knitted brow.

“What’s he say, Mister Sutcliff?  Asking you out on a date?” he joked.

Grelle was silent for a moment as he stared at the paper.  “I – I think he _is_ …”

“Say what?!”  He leaned over Grelle’s shoulder to read the note, sure that his friend must have truly gone delusional.

 

           _‘Grelle,_

_I’ve arranged for us to have this afternoon off.  Finish your work quickly._

_Meet me in London at four o’clock.  You remember the place._

_\- Will ‘_

Ronald stared at the note, jaw in his lap.  It certainly sounded like a date to him – as much as such a request could sound coming from William T. Spears, anyway.

“What place is he talking about?” he asked.

Grelle did not answer.  He sat, quietly, shaking a bit as reread the note over and over to be sure he was not seeing things.  “He… He remembered.”

The redhead’s choked voice startled the blond.  “Mister Sutcliff?”

The senior reaper hugged the letter to his chest.  He suddenly smiled, brightly and looked at his apprentice.  “How many reaps on the schedule this morning, Ronald?”

Ronald looked at his agenda book.  “Uh… looks like four, sir.  First one’s in less than an hour.”

“Then let’s get going!”  With renewed energy, the redhead tucked the note into the inner pocket of his vest before jumping to his feet and picking up his death scythe, slinging it over his shoulder.  “Come along, Ronnie!” he said and practically skipped to the elevators.

“Uh…  Right behind you, sir,” the younger one said, more to himself than anyone else.  “Just what in the realm happened the last few days?”

 

The rain had lightened up by that afternoon.  Grelle quickly turned in his paperwork, surprising everyone around him, and rushed home to freshen up.  He showered and debated putting on a nice dress, but decided against it.  He was not sure what William had planned for this outing and as he dressed and reapplied his make-up, he began to wonder if it was even what he thought.  Though the day, place and time left him little room for doubt, this was _William_.  It could be anything.  He thought back to the previous Friday morning.  Once the collection was over, they quickly packed their things and headed back to headquarters to turn over their paperwork.  After which, they fairly flew to William’s apartment…

The redhead sighed dreamily as he remembered that wonderful afternoon and the passion that lasted throughout the night.  Poor William had been so adorable as he shyly fumbled about.  He was no virgin, Grelle had learned, but it had certainly been a _long_ time for him.  Not to mention, his first time with another man.  Once he had found his confidence, though… Oh!  The things he had done!  Grelle shivered as an erotic sigh escaped his lips at the memories.  His William certainly was full of surprises that night.  They had laid in bed and cuddled all day Saturday, but Sunday morning William had said that he had a few things to attend to and Grelle had to go back home.  At first the redhead was afraid that he had done something wrong, or worse – that William was now regretting what they had done.  He remembered being close to tears until his lover had pulled him into his arms and assured him that everything was alright and that he would see him the next day. 

Grelle hoped that William had been sincere and that this was indeed a lovers’ meeting.  He looked himself over in the mirror once more before heading to London.

Even after nearly a century and all of the changes to the city since then, the red reaper remembered his way to that particular street.  He had visited a few times over the years.  The old boarding house had been renovated with many other buildings on the street and was now one among several quaint townhomes for the London middle class.  He hopped along the rooftops, until he spotted a familiar, handsome figure across from the old hovel. 

William put away his pocket watch and turned to the red reaper as he walked up beside him.  Grelle smiled as he was swept up into his lover’s arms and given a kiss that erased all lingering doubts from his mind.

“I missed you,” he said, almost shyly, making the brunet smile.

“Me, too.”  The elder reaper kissed his nose and lay his forehead against his.  “Did you get your work done?”

Grelle nodded.  “I even managed to get the paperwork in a little early, just for you,” he giggled, tapping his fingertip against the end of the other’s nose.

William smiled.  “I’m impressed.  It seems I’ve found the right motivation for you, then.”  The redhead hummed softly, burrowing against his lover as the air began to get colder.  The brunet turned his head to look down towards the street.  “I haven’t been back here in some time.  I didn’t realize how much it had changed.”

“Life goes on, so they say,” Grelle murmured. 

“I suppose so.”  He kissed his partner’s forehead.  “The print shop is still standing, isn’t it?”

“Last time I checked.  It’s a daily newspaper now, though.  It changed over about twenty years ago.”

“That’s a pity.”

“Do you want to go and see?”

“Why not?” William shrugged.  The two reapers made their way across the rooftops until they were across the street from the old book store.  “It still looks the same.  Cleaner, but the same.”

Grelle was more focused on William than the old building and he chuckled at the man’s statement.  “So do you, come to think of it.”

The brunet gave him a quick glance, laughing as well.  He reached up and ran his fingers through his neatly combed hair, causing his bangs to fall across his forehead.  Grelle blushed as he looked at the man, now looking so much more like he had then.

“Better?”  Grelle sighed and collapsed against him.  “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

The redhead giggled and looked up at his lover.  “Can I ask why you wanted me to meet you here, darling?”

William cast his eyes down, shyly, and kissed the other reaper’s forehead.  The pink tinge to his cheeks was so charming and made Grelle smile.  He watched as the brunet reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny red gift box, tied with a red ribbon.

“To give you this,” he said, placing it gently in Grelle’s palm.  “This is what I was working on yesterday.  I’m surprised that I actually managed to finish it in time.  I’m afraid my skills are a bit rusty.”

The red reaper’s hands trembled as he untied the ribbon and opened the hinged lid.  Inside, nestled against the black, velvet cushion, was a silver broach.  It was shaped as a traditional reaper’s scythe and in the crook of the blade and shaft was set a small, heart-shaped red stone.  Grelle felt a tear slip from his eye as he took the piece out to examine it more closely.  His darling William had made this himself – and just for _him_.  As he turned it over in his hands, he found there was an inscription on the back of the blade, “ _4 PM, 16 Dec 1799_.”  As he read this, the old clock tower a few blocks away sounded the hour. 

“Happy anniversary, Grelle.”  William caught his partner as he fell into his arms, weeping.  “What’s wrong?”

Grelle shook his head.  “Nothing.”  He wiped his tears away and looked up at his love.  “It’s beautiful, William.  Thank you so much.”

As the older reaper kissed his lover, the rain turned to snow and was beginning to pile, quickly, on the rooftops.  The two reapers broke their kiss and as they looked about at the flakes, they saw a few ribbons of Cinematic Records popping up around them.

“Looks like there are few finals happening today,” Grelle said.  His lover hummed in agreement, laying his cheek atop the red mane.  “I wonder if any other love stories are starting.”

“Time will tell, I suppose,” the other answered. 

The elder reaper was silent for a long while and the redhead looked up at him.  “Something on your mind, Will?”

He shrugged.  “Just thinking about Thomas.  I’ve almost finished with copying down his book.  For some time now, I’ve been wondering if I should get it published for him, seeing as he never made it to the print shop that day.”

“A posthumous publication after ninety years?”

“It’s happened before.  The profits could go towards expanding our tutoring program for the less educated reapers.  Perhaps towards one in the living world as well.”

Grelle smiled, admiringly at his partner.  “While I like the idea of keeping our little writer boy’s story to ourselves, I think Thomas would appreciate that.”  He leaned up and kissed the other man’s cheek.

“It might be a little too ambitious, though,” William sighed.  “While I think the book a masterpiece, others may disagree.  My own literary skills were sorely lacking back then.  I had only started learning to read a few years before I died.”

“Really?” Grelle asked, raising an eyebrow.  William seemed so well-learned, it was hard to imagine.

The man nodded.  “I couldn’t read _or_ write a word of the King’s English until I was twenty-five-years old.”

“You never told me that, Will.”  Then again, there was a lot that he still did not know about his lover after all these years.  “I almost feel bad for picking on you over your scores, now.”

William smirked and looked down at him.  “So, what was _your_ excuse for scoring a ‘B’ in Written Exams?”

“I just didn’t care,” Grelle shrugged.

“Your _Ethics_ scores certainly showed that.”  He was rewarded for his slight with a smack to the arm, making him chuckle.

“Keep in mind that I _still_ hold the highest score in Practical Skills at the academy,” the redhead warned, playfully.  “You caught me off-guard that day, but I could still best you, Mister _B-Average_.”

“Is that a challenge, Grelle?”

Grelle pressed close to his lover, placing their faces mere centimeters from each other.  “Pick the battlefield, my love, and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

William caught the inference and smiled.  “We best move ourselves inside, then, or else we’ll be too frozen for our bout.”

The redhead traced a teasing finger down his partner’s front.  “Your _arena_?  Or mine?”

“Mine.”  He closed the gap between them, kissing the smaller male, softly and wrapping his arms around the tiny waist.

Grelle sighed into the kiss, sliding his own arms up around the brunet’s neck, his fingers playing with the soft, silky locks.  “I love you, Will,” he whispered as they broke apart.

William rested his forehead against his lover’s.  “I love you, too, Grelle.”

 

 

**_~ END ~_ **

 

 

**Wow… that ended up being _waaaaay_ longer than I had planned!  Hope you all enjoyed and thank you for reading ^_^**


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